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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.9.13

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

3.9.13

kāmaṃ tapaḥ prabhāvena śaktā hantuṃ niśācarān
cirārjitaṃ tu necchāmas tapaḥ khaṇḍayituṃ vayam

'Granted, by the power of our penance we are able to slay the night-rovers; yet we do not wish to break the penance we have long amassed.'

Words: kāmaṃ — granted, indeed; tapaḥ — penance; prabhāvena — by the power; śaktā — able; hantuṃ — to slay; niśācarān — the night-rovers; cirārjitaṃ — long amassed; tu — but; necchāmas — we do not wish; tapaḥ — penance; khaṇḍayituṃ — to break, destroy; vayam — we

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.