Canto 1 - Boyhood
Bāla-kāṇḍa
Chapter 1: Contents of the Rāmāyaṇa Summarized
Text 1.1.4
आत्मवान्को जितक्रोधो द्युतिमान्कोऽनसूयकः।
कस्य बिभ्यति देवाश्च जातरोषस्य संयुगे॥
ātmavān ko jita-krodho dyutimān ko ’nasūyakaḥ
kasya bibhyati devāś ca jāta-roṣasya saṁyuge
ātmavān = is self-controlled; kaḥ = who; jita-krodhaḥ = of controlled anger; dyutimān kaḥ = splendorous; anasūyakaḥ = and nonenvious; kasya = whom; bibhyati = do fear; devāḥ = the demigods; ca = and others; jāta-roṣasya = when His anger is aroused; saṁyuge = in war.
Who is self-controlled, of controlled anger, splendorous and nonenvious? Whom do the demigods and others fear when His anger is aroused in war?
1 In other words, Lord Rāma is not intrinsically angry by nature.
Ātmavān refers to a person whose self-control is unshakable [14].
“Of controlled anger” means “one whose anger is regulated.” The Supreme Lord’s anger is only directed towards those who deserve to be punished and not others. As the sage Vālmīki will relate, krodham āhārayat tīvram vadhārthaṁ sarva-rakṣasām: “He summoned His anger in order to kill all the rākṣasas.” (Rāmāyaṇa 3.24.33)1
That Lord Rāma is splendorous will also be related by Śrī Vālmīki:
rūpa-saṁhananaṁ lakṣmīṁ saukumāryaṁ suveṣatām
dadṛśur vismitākārā rāmasya vana-vāsinaḥ
“Observing Lord Rāma’s proportioned beauty, overall splendor, tenderness and auspicious charm, the residents of the forest became astonished.” (Rāmāyaṇa 3.1.12)
Envy is to ascribe a fault even amongst the faultless, according to Amara-kośa [15]. Lord Rāma does not possess any envy.
Devāś ca can mean “the demigods and others” or “even the demigods.” In the former case, it refers to the demigods and the demons being frightened of the Supreme Personality of Godhead when He becomes angry in war; even the Lord’s friends are frightened when He becomes angry at His enemies. In the latter case, the implication is: even the demigods who are favorable to Him become frightened of Him when He becomes angry, what to speak of the demons?