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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.62.17
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 62: Lakṣmaṇa recalls Rāma’s own teaching. Even the great suffer loss, judgment and effort must survive grief so that the enemy can be found and defeated
In the sequence: he says he is only awakening the wisdom Rāma himself has taught him → Rāma should use his strength to discover and defeat the actual enemy, not destroy all beings.
3.62.17
mām eva hi purā vīra tvam eva bahuṣo 'nvaśāḥ
anuśiṣyād dhi ko nu tvām api sākṣād bṛhaspatiḥ
“For it was you, hero, who formerly instructed me many times; who indeed could instruct you — even Bṛhaspati himself?
Words: mām — me; eva — indeed; hi — for; purā — formerly; vīra — O hero; tvam — you; eva — indeed; bahuṣo — many times; 'nvaśāḥ — instructed, taught; anuśiṣyād — could instruct; dhi — indeed; ko — who; nu — indeed; tvām — you; api — even; sākṣād — in person, directly; bṛhaspatiḥ — Bṛhaspati (preceptor of the gods)
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.