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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 3.9.6
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: he takes up her own principle that a warrior carries a bow to prevent cries of distress: the Daṇḍaka munis have already sought his protection against repeated attacks
3.9.6
kāle kāle ca niratā niyamair vividhair vane
bhakṣyante rākṣasair bhīmair naramāṃsopajīvibhiḥ
Time and again, intent on their various observances in the forest, they are devoured by the fearsome rākṣasas who live on human flesh.
Words: kāle kāle — time and again, at each due time; ca — and; niratā — intent, devoted; niyamair — in observances, restraints; vividhair — various; vane — in the forest; bhakṣyante — are devoured; rākṣasair — by the rākṣasas; bhīmair — fearsome; naramāṃsopajīvibhiḥ — who subsist on human flesh
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.