Shloka 8
प्रहस्तनिर्याणम्
Prahasta’s Departure and the Muster of the Rakshasa Host
निर्याणायादेवतेनूनंचपलाहरिवाहिनी ।।।।नर्दतांराक्षसेन्द्राणांश्रुत्वानादंद्रविष्यति ।
niryāṇāyād eva te nūnaṁ capalā hari-vāhinī | nardatāṁ rākṣasendrāṇāṁ śrutvā nādaṁ draviṣyati ||6.57.8||
നീ പുറപ്പെടുന്ന നിമിഷം തന്നെ, രാക്ഷസേന്ദ്രന്മാരുടെ ഗർജ്ജനത്തിന്റെ മഹാനാദം കേട്ട്, ചഞ്ചലമായ വാനരവാഹിനി തീർച്ചയായും ഓടിപ്പോകും.
"Vanaras, who are fickle minded, undisciplined and volatile, will not endure the roar of lions of glowing Rakshasas."
FAQs
It warns implicitly against arrogance: assuming the opponent will collapse from fear can distort judgment; dharma requires clear seeing (viveka) rather than pride-driven certainty.
A leader motivates a commander by predicting that the enemy will panic and flee upon hearing the rākṣasa battle-roar.
Not virtue but a flaw is foregrounded: overconfidence, which the epic often treats as a cause of downfall.