Shloka 12
प्रहस्तवधः
The Slaying of Prahasta
शूलैःप्रमथिताःकेचित्केचिच्चपरमायुधैः ।।।।परिघैराहताःकेचित्केचिच्छिन्नाःपरश्वधैः ।
śūlaiḥ pramathitāḥ kecit kecic ca paramāyudhaiḥ | parighair āhatāḥ kecit kecic chinnāḥ paraśvadhaiḥ ||
ചിലർ ശൂലങ്ങളാൽ ചതഞ്ഞു; ചിലർ പരമായുധങ്ങളാൽ പ്രഹരിക്കപ്പെട്ടു; ചിലർ പരിഘങ്ങളാൽ അടിക്കപ്പെട്ടു; ചിലർ പരശുക്കളാൽ വെട്ടിത്തെറിപ്പിക്കപ്പെട്ടു.
Indeed, some were killed by Rakshasas with pikes, some by javelins, a few with iron bars, and a few were hacked with axes.
FAQs
The verse highlights the grave cost of war: when adharma drives conflict, destruction spreads indiscriminately. It implicitly warns that abandoning righteous restraint leads to widespread suffering.
A vivid battlefield description: combatants fall by many kinds of weapons as the fighting intensifies between Vānara and Rākṣasa forces.
Not a single virtue of one hero, but the larger ideal of disciplined, righteous warfare (kṣātra-dharma) is invoked by contrast—showing what happens when battle becomes sheer slaughter.