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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.8.24

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

3.8.24

tad āryakaluṣā buddhir jāyate śastrasevanāt
punar gatvā tv ayodhyāyāṃ kṣatradharmaṃ cariṣyasi

So an ignoble, sullied mind arises from the handling of weapons; but when you have gone back to Ayodhyā, you will practise the warrior's dharma.

Words: tad — therefore, so; āryakaluṣā — ignoble and sullied; buddhir — the mind; jāyate — arises, is born; śastrasevanāt — from the handling of weapons; punar — again; gatvā — having gone; tv — but; ayodhyāyāṃ — in Ayodhyā; kṣatradharmaṃ — the warrior's dharma; cariṣyasi — you will practise

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.