Shloka 19
न्यग्रोध
प्रवेश-निवारणम् (Preventing Indrajit’s Banyan-Tree Rite) / Indrajit Confronts Vibhishana
राक्षसेन्द्रसुतासाधोपारुष्यंत्यजगौरवात् ।कुलेयद्यप्यहंजातोरक्षसांक्रूरकर्मणाम् ।।6.87.19।।गुणोयःप्रथमोनृणंतन्मेशीलमराक्षसम् ।
rākṣasendrasuta asādho pāruṣyaṃ tyaja gauravāt | kule yady apy ahaṃ jāto rakṣasāṃ krūrakarmaṇām || 6.87.19 || guṇo yaḥ prathamo nṛṇāṃ tan me śīlam arākṣasam |
羅刹王の子よ、悪しき者よ。名誉を重んじ、この荒々しさを捨てよ。たとえ我は残虐な業で知られる羅刹の一族に生まれたといえども、人の第一の徳としてダルマを我が戒めとした。ゆえに我が性は羅刹のそれではない。
"Impious son of Rakshasa king! Though born in the Rakshasa clan I renounced cruel deeds and followed respectfully manliness as my primary quality. My nature is not like that of Rakshasas."
FAQs
Dharma is grounded in chosen virtue, not merely birth: one may be born into a cruel lineage yet commit to humane, righteous qualities as primary.
Vibhīṣaṇa answers Indrajit’s insult by explaining his moral divergence from rākṣasa cruelty despite shared family and clan.
Moral autonomy and reformation—Vibhīṣaṇa foregrounds the ‘foremost human virtue’ (a dharmic guṇa) as his defining trait.