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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.8.21

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: Sītā says affection prompts her warning: she does not want Rāma to kill forest-dwellers who have committed no offense against him

3.8.21

buddhir vairaṃ vinā hantuṃ rākṣasān daṇḍakāśritān
aparādhaṃ vinā hantuṃ lokān vīra na kāmaye

The intent to slay the rākṣasas who dwell in Daṇḍaka without any enmity—to kill creatures without offense, O hero, I do not wish it.

Words: buddhir — the intent, thought; vairaṃ vinā — without enmity; hantuṃ — to slay; rākṣasān — the rākṣasas; daṇḍakāśritān — dwelling in Daṇḍaka; aparādhaṃ vinā — without offense; hantuṃ — to slay; lokān — creatures, people; vīra — O hero; na — not; kāmaye — I desire

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.