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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.8.17

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

3.8.17

yatra gacchaty upādātuṃ mūlāni ca phalāni ca
na vinā yāti taṃ khaḍgaṃ nyāsarakṣaṇatatparaḥ

Wherever he went to gather roots and fruits, intent on guarding the trust, he never went without that sword.

Words: yatra — wherever; gacchaty — he goes; upādātuṃ — to gather, take up; mūlāni ca — roots and; phalāni ca — and fruits; na vinā — not without; yāti — goes; taṃ khaḍgaṃ — that sword; nyāsarakṣaṇatatparaḥ — intent on guarding the trust

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.