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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.8.4

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 identifies three faults arising from desire: falsehood, seeking another man's wife, and violence without enmity → she says the first two are foreign to Rāma's character, but fears that the third may follow from his promise to kill rākṣasas for the munis

3.8.4

mithyāvākyaṃ na te bhūtaṃ na bhaviṣyati rāghava
kuto 'bhilaṣaṇaṃ strīṇāṃ pareṣāṃ dharmanāśanam

False speech, O Rāghava, has never been yours and never will be; whence then would come the desiring of other men's wives, which destroys dharma?

Words: mithyāvākyaṃ — false speech; na — not; te — yours; bhūtaṃ — has been; na — nor; bhaviṣyati — will be; rāghava — O Rāghava; kuto — whence; 'bhilaṣaṇaṃ — the desiring, coveting; strīṇāṃ — of women; pareṣāṃ — of others; dharmanāśanam — destroying dharma

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.