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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.57.20

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 57: Daśaratha’s arrow aimed at a sound. He recalls mistaking a filling pot for an elephant and shooting a youth who directs him to his blind parents

In the sequence: a young forest tapasvin cried out, asking why someone had attacked a harmless person fetching water

2.57.20

ṛṣer hi nyasta daṇḍasya vane vanyena jīvataḥ
kathaṃ nu śastreṇa vadho madvidhasya vidhīyate

'For a seer who has laid down the rod of violence, living in the forest on forest fare — how can slaying by a weapon be ordained for one like me?'

Words: ṛṣer — of a seer; hi — for, indeed; nyasta — having laid down; daṇḍasya — of the rod (of punishment); vane — in the forest; vanyena — on forest produce; jīvataḥ — living; kathaṃ — how; nu — indeed; śastreṇa — by a weapon; vadho — slaying; madvidhasya — of one like me; vidhīyate — is ordained, is inflicted

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.