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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.28.7
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 28: Khara’s mace destroyed. Rāma condemns his attacks on the ṛṣis, Khara throws a blazing mace and Rāma shatters it with arrows
In the sequence: Facing the now dismounted Khara, Rāma condemns his cruelty and the killing of tapasvins → he says power cannot protect someone forever from the consequences of such actions
3.28.7
na ciraṃ pāpakarmāṇaḥ krūrā lokajugupsitāḥ
aiśvaryaṃ prāpya tiṣṭhanti śīrṇamūlā iva drumāḥ
Doers of evil, cruel, abhorred by the world, do not stand long after gaining power, like trees whose roots have rotted.
Words: na ciraṃ — not long; pāpakarmāṇaḥ — doers of evil; krūrā — cruel; lokajugupsitāḥ — abhorred by the world; aiśvaryaṃ — power, lordship; prāpya — having gained; tiṣṭhanti — stand, endure; śīrṇamūlā — with rotted roots; iva — like; drumāḥ — trees
Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.