Shloka 316
कण्वोपदेशः—नश्वरबलविवेकः तथा मातलिगुणकेश्याः आख्यानारम्भः
Kaṇva’s Counsel on Impermanent Power; Opening of the Mātali–Guṇakeśī Narrative
निमित्तवेधी स मुनिरिषीकाभि: समार्पयत् | इस प्रकार लक्ष्यवेध करनेवाले नर मुनिने मायाद्वारा सींकके बाणोंसे ही दम्भोद्धवके सैनिकोंकी आँखों, कानों और नासिकाओंको बींध डाला
nimittavedhī sa munir ṛṣīkābhiḥ samārpayat |
قال راما: «إن ذلك الناسك، المشهور بأنه رامٍ لا يخطئ، قد ركّب سهامه، وبقوة المايا (الوهم)، ثقب عيون جنود دَمْبْهُودْبَهَفَ وآذانهم وأنوفهم بسِهامٍ من القصب لا غير.»
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined mastery and the ethical tension in warfare: superior power can be used to incapacitate rather than annihilate, suggesting restraint and proportional response even amid hostility.
Rama narrates how a sage renowned for perfect aim readied reed-arrows and, through māyā, struck the enemy soldiers’ sensory organs (eyes, ears, noses), disabling them with precise, non-lethal targeting rather than mass killing.