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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.8.22

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: she accepts the bow's use for protecting the distressed but questions combining warfare with the life of tapas → he can resume the warrior's duties on returning to Ayodhyā; here she urges him to follow the discipline of the forest

3.8.22

kṣatriyāṇāṃ tu vīrāṇāṃ vaneṣu niyatātmanām
dhanuṣā kāryam etāvad ārtānām abhirakṣaṇam

For heroic warriors of disciplined soul in the forests, this alone is the work of the bow: the protection of those in distress.

Words: kṣatriyāṇāṃ — of warriors; tu — but, indeed; vīrāṇāṃ — heroic; vaneṣu — in the forests; niyatātmanām — of disciplined soul; dhanuṣā — by the bow; kāryam — the task, duty; etāvad — only this much; ārtānām — of those in distress; abhirakṣaṇam — the protection

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.