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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.9.11
Araṇya Kāṇḍa, sarga 9: Rāma’s promise to the ṛṣis. He explains their refusal to spend tapasvin power on curses and declares that protecting them binds him more strongly than his own life
In the sequence: they told him that shape-changing rākṣasas attack during offerings and observances → although the tapasvins could use their tapas to kill their enemies, they will not squander their hard-earned austerity in curses
3.9.11
homakāle tu saṃprāpte parvakāleṣu cānagha
dharṣayanti sma durdharṣā rākṣasāḥ piśitāśanāḥ
'When the time of oblation has come, and on the days of the moon's changes, O sinless one, the invincible flesh-eating rākṣasas assail us.'
Words: homakāle — at the time of oblation; tu — and; saṃprāpte — having arrived; parvakāleṣu — on the days of the moon's changes; cānagha — and O sinless one; dharṣayanti — they assail, harass; sma — (perfect particle); durdharṣā — invincible, unassailable; rākṣasāḥ — the rākṣasas; piśitāśanāḥ — flesh-eaters
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.