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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.24.16

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 24: Story of Tāṭakā: Birth, marriage and Agastya’s curse. Brahmā grants Suketu a powerful daughter, Tāṭakā marries Sunda and bears Mārīca, their attack on Agastya brings his transforming curses

In the sequence: Viśvāmitra tells Rāma that protecting the population requires killing her despite her being a woman

1.24.16

rājyabhāraniyuktānām eṣa dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ
adharmyāṃ jahi kākutsha dharmo hy asyā na vidyate

This is the eternal dharma of those charged with the burden of kingship; slay the unrighteous one, O Kākutstha, for no dharma is found in her.

Words: rājyabhāraniyuktānām — of those charged with the burden of kingship; eṣa — this; dharmaḥ — dharma, duty; sanātanaḥ — eternal, everlasting; adharmyāṃ — the unrighteous one; jahi — slay; kākutsha — O Kākutstha; dharmo — dharma; hy — for; asyā — in her; na — not; vidyate — is found

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.