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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.8.23
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
3.8.23
kva ca śastraṃ kva ca vanaṃ kva ca kṣātraṃ tapaḥ kva ca
vyāviddham idam asmābhir deśadharmas tu pūjyatām
What has the weapon to do with the forest, and what has the warrior's calling to do with penance? These are at odds; yet let the custom of the place be honoured.
Words: kva ca — where too, what has; śastraṃ — the weapon; kva ca — where too; vanaṃ — the forest; kva ca — where too; kṣātraṃ — the warrior's calling; tapaḥ — penance; kva ca — where too; vyāviddham — confused, at odds, mutually opposed; idam — this; asmābhir — by us; deśadharmas — the custom of the place; tu — but; pūjyatām — let it be honoured
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.