Shloka 6
Virādha-saṃvādaḥ — Encounter with Virādha in the Daṇḍakāraṇya
Aranya Kanda, Sarga 2
वसानं चर्म वैयाघ्रं वसार्द्रं रुधिरोक्षितम्।त्रासनं सर्वभूतानां व्यादितास्यमिवान्तकम्।।।।
vasānaṃ carma vaiyāghraṃ vasārdraṃ rudhirokṣitam | trāsanaṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ vyāditāsyam ivāntakam ||
அவன் கொழுப்பில் நனைந்து இரத்தம் தெறித்த புலித் தோலை அணிந்திருந்தான்; எல்லா உயிர்களையும் அச்சுறுத்தும் அவன், வாயை விரித்தவனாய்—சாட்சாத் அந்தகன் (யமன்) போல் தோன்றினான்.
Wearing a tiger-skin, he resembled the god of death. With a wide, open mouth, wet with marrow and drenched with blood, he struck terror into all beings.
FAQs
Dharma requires confronting terror without yielding to it; the verse depicts fear as a weapon of adharma, which the righteous must overcome.
Virādha’s gruesome attire and death-like presence are described as he approaches the protagonists.
Fearlessness (abhaya)—the implied moral demand on Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa is steadiness in the face of horror.