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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.8.27

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 praises dharma as the source of lasting well-being and asks him to consider her words with Lakṣmaṇa, then decide for himself.

3.8.27

ātmānaṃ niyamais tais taiḥ karṣayitvā prayatnataḥ
prāpyate nipuṇair dharmo na sukhāl labhyate sukham

Wearing down the self by this and that restraint, with effort, dharma is attained by the skilful; happiness is not won from ease.

Words: ātmānaṃ — the self; niyamais — by restraints, disciplines; tais taiḥ — by this and that; karṣayitvā — having worn down, mortified; prayatnataḥ — with effort, diligently; prāpyate — is attained; nipuṇair — by the skilful; dharmo — dharma; na — not; sukhāl — from ease, comfort; labhyate — is obtained; sukham — happiness

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.