Shloka 6
अकम्पनवृत्तान्तः
Akampana Reports Janasthana; Ravana Plans Sita’s Abduction
कालस्य चाप्यहं कालो दहेयमपि पावकम्।मृत्युं मरणधर्मेण संयोजयितुमुत्सहे।।3.31.6।।
kālasya cāpy ahaṃ kālo daheyam api pāvakam | mṛtyuṃ maraṇa-dharmeṇa saṃyojayitum utsahe || 3.31.6 ||
ഞാൻ കാലത്തിന്റെയും കാലൻ; അഗ്നിയെയ്ക്കും ദഹിപ്പാൻ കഴിയും. മരണധർമ്മപ്രകാരം മരണത്തെയ്ക്കും മൃത്യുവിലേക്കു ബന്ധിപ്പിക്കാൻ എനിക്ക് കഴിവുണ്ട്.
I am the destroyer of the destroyer (Yama). I can burn even that which burns (fire). Ican infuse Death with the characteristics of death itself.
FAQs
The verse functions as an ethical warning: claiming supremacy over cosmic law (kāla/mṛtyu) is delusion; dharma recognizes limits, accountability, and the higher order that even kings cannot override.
Rāvaṇa continues his self-glorifying claims of invincibility, which motivates Mārīca’s later, more vivid deterrent metaphors about Rāma.
Again, the highlighted trait is a vice—overconfidence and hubris—presented as the seed of downfall.