← 3.8.13 · Araṇya Kāṇḍa 8: Story of the tapasvin’s sword · 3.8.15 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.8.14

Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 8: Story of the tapasvin’s sword. Sītā describes how guarding Indra’s weapon corrupted a peaceful ṛṣi and warns Rāma against violence without enmity

In the sequence: seeing him enter the forest armed worries her: a warrior's bow can inflame aggression as fuel feeds fire. To explain, Sītā recalls a tapasvin whose peaceful discipline Indra wished to obstruct

3.8.14

tasyaiva tapaso vighnaṃ kartum indraḥ śacīpatiḥ
khaḍgapāṇir athāgacchad āśramaṃ bhaṭa rūpadhṛk

To make an obstacle to his very austerity, Indra, the lord of Śacī, then came to the hermitage, sword in hand, wearing the guise of a soldier.

Words: tasyaiva — of his very; tapaso — austerity; vighnaṃ — obstacle, hindrance; kartum — to make; indraḥ — Indra; śacīpatiḥ — the lord of Śacī; khaḍgapāṇir — sword in hand; athāgacchad — then came; āśramaṃ — to the hermitage; bhaṭa — a soldier, warrior; rūpadhṛk — assuming the form

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.