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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.8.16

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: determined not to lose the deposit, the tapasvin took the sword everywhere, even when gathering food

3.8.16

sa tac chastram anuprāpya nyāsarakṣaṇatatparaḥ
vane tu vicaraty eva rakṣan pratyayam ātmanaḥ

Having received that weapon, intent on guarding the trust, he wandered about in the forest, keeping faith with himself.

Words: sa — he; tac chastram — that weapon; anuprāpya — having received; nyāsarakṣaṇatatparaḥ — intent on guarding the trust; vane — in the forest; tu — indeed; vicaraty — wanders about; eva — just, indeed; rakṣan — keeping, guarding; pratyayam — faith, trust, pledge; ātmanaḥ — of himself

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.