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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.90.19

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 90: Lakṣmaṇa suspects Bharata’s army. He recognizes the banner, assumes an attack and urges Rāma to extinguish the fire, hide Sītā and prepare to fight

In the sequence: he argues that killing the supposed aggressor would be justified

2.90.19

bharatasya vadhe doṣaṃ nāhaṃ paśyāmi rāghava
pūrvāpakariṇāṃ tyāge na hy adharmo vidhīyate
etasminn nihate kṛtsnām anuśādhi vasuṃdharām

I see no fault in slaying Bharata, Rāghava; for in doing away with those who have first done wrong no unrighteousness is ordained. With him slain, rule the whole earth.

Words: bharatasya — of Bharata; vadhe — in the slaying; doṣaṃ — fault, wrong; nāhaṃ — not I; paśyāmi — see; rāghava — O Rāghava; pūrvāpakariṇāṃ — of those who have first done harm; tyāge — in the doing-away, killing; na hy — for not; adharmo — unrighteousness; vidhīyate — is ordained, enjoined; etasminn nihate — when he is slain; kṛtsnām — the whole; anuśādhi — rule, govern; vasuṃdharām — the earth

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.