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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.61.15

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 61: Lakṣmaṇa restrains Rāma’s anger. He rejects destroying the world for one offender and urges a search and persuasion before resorting to force

In the sequence: first they should try inquiry and persuasion → only if these fail should Rāma use force against those responsible.

3.61.15

na cet sāmnā pradāsyanti patnīṃ te tridaśeśvarāḥ
kosalendra tataḥ paścāt prāptakālaṃ kariṣyasi

If the lords of the gods will not restore your wife by conciliation, then afterwards, O lord of Kosala, you shall do what the hour demands.

Words: na cet — if not; sāmnā — by conciliation; pradāsyanti — will give back, restore; patnīṃ — the wife; te — your; tridaśeśvarāḥ — the lords of the gods; kosalendra — O lord of Kosala; tataḥ paścāt — then afterwards; prāptakālaṃ — what suits the occasion, the timely deed; kariṣyasi — you will do

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.