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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.9.15
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
3.9.15
tad ardyamānān rakṣobhir daṇḍakāraṇyavāsibhiḥ
rakṣanas tvaṃ saha bhrātrā tvannāthā hi vayaṃ vane
'So, tormented by the rākṣasas who dwell in the Daṇḍaka forest, protect us with your brother, for we have you as our lord in the forest.'
Words: tad — so, therefore; ardyamānān — (us) being tormented; rakṣobhir — by the rākṣasas; daṇḍakāraṇyavāsibhiḥ — dwelling in the Daṇḍaka forest; rakṣanas — protecting, do protect; tvaṃ — you; saha bhrātrā — with your brother; tvannāthā — having you as lord; hi — for, indeed; vayaṃ — we; vane — in the forest
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.