Shloka 20
किष्किन्धायां सुग्रीवस्य नादः
Sugriva’s War-Cry at Kishkindha
तस्य शब्देन वित्रस्ता गावो यान्ति हतप्रभाः।राजदोषपरामृष्टाः कुलस्त्रिय इवाकुलाः4.14.20।।
tasya śabdena vitrastā gāvo yānti hataprabhāḥ |
rājadoṣaparāmṛṣṭāḥ kulastriya ivākulāḥ || 4.14.20 ||
तस्य शब्देन वित्रस्ता गावो यान्ति हतप्रभाः। राजदोषपरामृष्टाः कुलस्त्रिय इवाकुलाः॥
Sugriva, surrounded by his companions, raised his voice as if piercing the sky, roaring like a huge thundering cloud, challenging Vali to a duel.
FAQs
It gestures to rājadharma: when the ruler’s protective duty falters, the vulnerable are shaken and social order is disturbed—protection is a central moral obligation of kingship.
Sugriva’s roar is so intense that animals panic; the poet uses a social simile to illustrate the magnitude of upheaval.
Indirectly, the verse emphasizes the king’s duty of protection (a virtue of governance), by showing the chaos that follows its failure.