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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.8.19

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: constant possession of the weapon gradually made him cruel; he abandoned his austerities and ultimately went to hell

3.8.19

tataḥ sa raudrābhirataḥ pramatto 'dharmakarṣitaḥ
tasya śastrasya saṃvāsāj jagāma narakaṃ muniḥ

Then that sage, taking delight in cruelty, grown heedless and dragged down by unrighteousness, through his keeping company with that weapon, went to hell.

Words: tataḥ — then; sa — that; raudrābhirataḥ — delighting in cruelty; pramatto — heedless, negligent; 'dharmakarṣitaḥ — dragged down by unrighteousness; tasya śastrasya — of that weapon; saṃvāsāj — from the association, keeping company; jagāma — went; narakaṃ — to hell; muniḥ — the sage

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.