Shloka 25
लङ्कादाहः — The Burning of Lanka
Catuḥpañcāśaḥ Sargaḥ
क्रन्दन्त्यस्सहसा पेतुः स्तनन्धयधराः स्त्रियः।।।।काश्चिदग्निपरीतेभ्यो हर्मेभ्यो मुक्तमूर्धजाः।पतन्त्यो रेजिरेऽभ्रेभ्यस्सौदामन्य इवाम्बरात्।।।।
krandantyaḥ sahasā petuḥ stanandhayadharāḥ striyaḥ | kāścid agniparītebhyo harmyebhyo muktamūrdhajāḥ | patantyo rejire ’bhrebhyaḥ saudāminya iva ambarāt ||
കരഞ്ഞുകൊണ്ട്, മുലകുടിക്കുന്ന കുഞ്ഞുങ്ങളെ ചേർത്തുപിടിച്ച ചില സ്ത്രീകൾ പെട്ടെന്ന് തീ ചുറ്റിയ കൊട്ടാരങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് ചാടിവീണു; ഭീതിയിൽ അവരുടെ മുടി അഴുകിപ്പോയി. വീഴുമ്പോൾ അവർ ആകാശത്തിലെ മേഘങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് പതിക്കുന്ന മിന്നലുപോലെ ദീപ്തിയായി തിളങ്ങി.
A few she-demons at once jumped out of their burning mansions surrounded by fire. They held their breast-feeding babies in their arms, their hair let loose shouting as they jumped. As they were alighting, they glowed like lightnings dropping from the clouds.
FAQs
The verse highlights the human cost of adharma-driven conflict: even non-combatants (women with infants) suffer when rulers choose unrighteousness. Dharma in governance includes protecting the vulnerable; when that fails, society bears the consequences.
After Hanumān ignites Laṅkā, the city’s mansions burn. In panic, women holding nursing babies leap down from flaming buildings, their loosened hair and cries conveying terror and disorder.
Indirectly, Hanumān’s unwavering commitment to Rāma’s mission is emphasized; simultaneously, the verse invites the virtue of karuṇā (compassion) in the audience by foregrounding civilian suffering amid righteous retribution.