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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.60.37

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 60: Traces of Sītā’s abduction. Flowers, footprints, blood and chariot wreckage suggest a struggle, Rāma’s uncertainty turns to threats against the whole world

In the sequence: unable to determine whether she was abducted or killed, he feels that his compassion has been mistaken for weakness and that dharma has failed to protect her

3.60.37

kartāram api lokānāṃ śūraṃ karuṇavedinam
ajñānād avamanyeran sarvabhūtāni lakṣmaṇa

“Even the maker of the worlds, though valiant and full of compassion, all beings would slight out of ignorance, Lakṣmaṇa.

Words: kartāram — the maker, doer; api — even; lokānāṃ — of the worlds; śūraṃ — valiant, a hero; karuṇavedinam — feeling compassion; ajñānād — out of ignorance; avamanyeran — would slight, despise; sarvabhūtāni — all beings; lakṣmaṇa — O Lakṣmaṇa

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.