# Araṇya Kāṇḍa 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* Portion: Sītā and Rāma debate the use of force · Verses: 29 · Ref format: 3.8. ## Sequence - As they leave, Sītā speaks gently to Rāma about the difficulty of maintaining dharma (8.1–2) - 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 (8.3–8) - seeing him enter the forest armed worries her: a warrior's bow can inflame aggression as fuel feeds fire (8.9–12). To explain, Sītā recalls a tapasvin whose peaceful discipline Indra wished to obstruct (8.13–14) - disguised as a soldier, Indra entrusted him with a sword for safekeeping (8.15) - determined not to lose the deposit, the tapasvin took the sword everywhere, even when gathering food (8.16–17) - constant possession of the weapon gradually made him cruel; he abandoned his austerities and ultimately went to hell (8.18–19) - Sītā says affection prompts her warning: she does not want Rāma to kill forest-dwellers who have committed no offense against him (8.20–21) - she accepts the bow's use for protecting the distressed but questions combining warfare with the life of tapas → he can resume the warrior's duties on returning to Ayodhyā; here she urges him to follow the discipline of the forest (8.22–25) - she praises dharma as the source of lasting well-being and asks him to consider her words with Lakṣmaṇa, then decide for himself (8.26–29). ## Verses **3.8.1** sutīkṣṇenābhyanujñātaṃ prasthitaṃ raghunandanam vaidehī snigdhayā vācā bhartāram idam abravīt As the delight of the Raghus, dismissed by Sutīkṣṇa, set out, Vaidehī addressed her husband with tender words: **3.8.2** ayaṃ dharmaḥ susūkṣmeṇa vidhinā prāpyate mahān nivṛttena ca śakyo 'yaṃ vyasanāt kāmajād iha This great dharma is attained by a very subtle discipline; and it can be won here by one who has turned away from the vices born of desire. **3.8.3** trīṇy eva vyasanāny atra kāmajāni bhavanty uta mithyā vākyaṃ paramakaṃ tasmād gurutarāv ubhau paradārābhigamanaṃ vinā vairaṃ ca raudratā Now there are just three vices here born of desire: false speech is the foremost, and graver than that are the other two—approaching another's wife, and cruelty without enmity. **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? **3.8.5** tac ca sarvaṃ mahābāho śakyaṃ voḍhuṃ jitendriyaiḥ tava vaśyendriyatvaṃ ca jānāmi śubhadarśana All that, O mighty-armed one, can be mastered by those who have conquered their senses; and I know your mastery of the senses, O fair-visaged one. **3.8.6** tṛtīyaṃ yad idaṃ raudraṃ paraprāṇābhihiṃsanam nirvairaṃ kriyate mohāt tac ca te samupasthitam The third, this cruel thing—the slaying of others' lives, done without enmity, out of delusion—that too has now presented itself to you. **3.8.7** pratijñātas tvayā vīra daṇḍakāraṇyavāsinām ṛṣīṇāṃ rakṣaṇārthāya vadhaḥ saṃyati rakṣasām You have vowed, O hero, for the sake of protecting the sages who dwell in the Daṇḍaka forest, the slaying of the rākṣasas in battle. **3.8.8** etannimittaṃ ca vanaṃ daṇḍakā iti viśrutam prasthitas tvaṃ saha bhrātrā dhṛtabāṇaśarāsanaḥ And for this purpose you have set out with your brother, bow and arrows in hand, to the forest famed as Daṇḍaka. **3.8.9** tatas tvāṃ prasthitaṃ dṛṣṭvā mama cintākulaṃ manaḥ tvad vṛttaṃ cintayantyā vai bhaven niḥśreyasaṃ hitam Seeing you thus set out, my mind is troubled with anxiety; brooding on your conduct, I would wish for what is best and most beneficial for you. **3.8.10** na hi me rocate vīra gamanaṃ daṇḍakān prati kāraṇaṃ tatra vakṣyāmi vadantyāḥ śrūyatāṃ mama For your going to the Daṇḍaka forest does not please me, O hero; I shall tell you the reason—let it be heard from me as I speak. **3.8.11** tvaṃ hi bāṇadhanuṣpāṇir bhrātrā saha vanaṃ gataḥ dṛṣṭvā vanacarān sarvān kaccit kuryāḥ śaravyayam For you, with bow and arrows in hand, gone to the forest with your brother—on seeing all the forest-dwellers, might you not loose your arrows? **3.8.12** kṣatriyāṇām iha dhanur hutāśasyendhanāni ca samīpataḥ sthitaṃ tejobalam ucchrayate bhṛśam The bow is to warriors here as fuel is to the fire: standing close by, it makes their fiery strength blaze up mightily. **3.8.13** purā kila mahābāho tapasvī satyavāk śuciḥ kasmiṃś cid abhavat puṇye vane ratamṛgadvije In olden days, O mighty-armed one, so it is told, there was an ascetic, truthful in speech and pure, in a certain holy forest full of happy deer and birds. **3.8.14** tasyaiva tapaso vighnaṃ kartum indraḥ śacīpatiḥ khaḍgapāṇir athāgacchad āśramaṃ bhaṭa rūpadhṛk To make an obstacle to his very austerity, Indra, the lord of Śacī, then came to the hermitage, sword in hand, wearing the guise of a soldier. **3.8.15** tasmiṃs tad āśramapade nihitaḥ khaḍga uttamaḥ sa nyāsavidhinā dattaḥ puṇye tapasi tiṣṭhataḥ In that hermitage he deposited his excellent sword, giving it in the manner of a trust to the ascetic abiding in holy penance. **3.8.16** sa tac chastram anuprāpya nyāsarakṣaṇatatparaḥ vane tu vicaraty eva rakṣan pratyayam ātmanaḥ Having received that weapon, intent on guarding the trust, he wandered about in the forest, keeping faith with himself. **3.8.17** yatra gacchaty upādātuṃ mūlāni ca phalāni ca na vinā yāti taṃ khaḍgaṃ nyāsarakṣaṇatatparaḥ Wherever he went to gather roots and fruits, intent on guarding the trust, he never went without that sword. **3.8.18** nityaṃ śastraṃ parivahan krameṇa sa tapodhanaḥ cakāra raudrīṃ svāṃ buddhiṃ tyaktvā tapasi niścayam Ever carrying the weapon about, that ascetic rich in penance gradually made his own mind cruel, abandoning his resolve in austerity. **3.8.19** tataḥ sa raudrābhirataḥ pramatto 'dharmakarṣitaḥ tasya śastrasya saṃvāsāj jagāma narakaṃ muniḥ Then that sage, taking delight in cruelty, grown heedless and dragged down by unrighteousness, through his keeping company with that weapon, went to hell. **3.8.20** snehāc ca bahumānāc ca smāraye tvāṃ na śikṣaye na kathaṃ cana sā kāryā hṛhītadhanuṣā tvayā Out of affection and out of deep regard I remind you—I do not instruct you: never should this (cruelty) be done by you when you hold the bow. **3.8.21** buddhir vairaṃ vinā hantuṃ rākṣasān daṇḍakāśritān aparādhaṃ vinā hantuṃ lokān vīra na kāmaye The intent to slay the rākṣasas who dwell in Daṇḍaka without any enmity—to kill creatures without offense, O hero, I do not wish it. **3.8.22** kṣatriyāṇāṃ tu vīrāṇāṃ vaneṣu niyatātmanām dhanuṣā kāryam etāvad ārtānām abhirakṣaṇam For heroic warriors of disciplined soul in the forests, this alone is the work of the bow: the protection of those in distress. **3.8.23** kva ca śastraṃ kva ca vanaṃ kva ca kṣātraṃ tapaḥ kva ca vyāviddham idam asmābhir deśadharmas tu pūjyatām What has the weapon to do with the forest, and what has the warrior's calling to do with penance? These are at odds; yet let the custom of the place be honoured. **3.8.24** tad āryakaluṣā buddhir jāyate śastrasevanāt punar gatvā tv ayodhyāyāṃ kṣatradharmaṃ cariṣyasi So an ignoble, sullied mind arises from the handling of weapons; but when you have gone back to Ayodhyā, you will practise the warrior's dharma. **3.8.25** akṣayā tu bhavet prītiḥ śvaśrū śvaśurayor mama yadi rājyaṃ hi saṃnyasya bhaves tvaṃ nirato muniḥ Undying would be the joy of my mother-in-law and father-in-law, if, renouncing the kingdom, you were to become a devoted sage. **3.8.26** dharmād arthaḥ prabhavati dharmāt prabhavate sukham dharmeṇa labhate sarvaṃ dharmasāram idaṃ jagat From dharma springs wealth, from dharma springs happiness; by dharma one gains everything—this world has dharma for its essence. **3.8.27** ātmānaṃ niyamais tais taiḥ karṣayitvā prayatnataḥ prāpyate nipuṇair dharmo na sukhāl labhyate sukham Wearing down the self by this and that restraint, with effort, dharma is attained by the skilful; happiness is not won from ease. **3.8.28** nityaṃ śucimatiḥ saumya cara dharmaṃ tapovane sarvaṃ hi viditaṃ tubhyaṃ trailokyam api tattvataḥ Ever pure of mind, gentle one, practise dharma in the penance-grove; for the whole of the three worlds is known to you truly. **3.8.29** strīcāpalād etad udāhṛtaṃ me dharmaṃ ca vaktuṃ tava kaḥ samarthaḥ vicārya buddhyā tu sahānujena yad rocate tat kuru mācireṇa This has been uttered by me out of a woman's fickleness—for who is competent to teach dharma to you? Having pondered it with your intellect together with your brother, do without delay whatever pleases you.