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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.8.25

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

3.8.25

akṣayā tu bhavet prītiḥ śvaśrū śvaśurayor mama
yadi rājyaṃ hi saṃnyasya bhaves tvaṃ nirato muniḥ

Undying would be the joy of my mother-in-law and father-in-law, if, renouncing the kingdom, you were to become a devoted sage.

Words: akṣayā — undying, imperishable; tu — indeed; bhavet — would be; prītiḥ — joy, delight; śvaśrū — mother-in-law; śvaśurayor — of the father-in-law (dual: of both parents-in-law); mama — my; yadi — if; rājyaṃ — the kingdom; hi — indeed; saṃnyasya — having renounced; bhaves — you were to become; tvaṃ — you; nirato — devoted; muniḥ — a sage

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.