Shloka 3.6.15
षष्ठस्सर्गः — तपस्विरक्षणे राजधर्मोपदेशः (Sarga 6: The Sages’ Appeal and Instruction on Royal Duty)
सोऽयं ब्राह्मणभूयिष्ठो वानप्रस्थगणो महान्।त्वन्नाथोऽनाथवद्राम राक्षसैर्वध्यते भृशम्।।।।
ehi paśya śarīrāṇi munīnāṃ bhāvitātmanām |
hatānāṃ rākṣasair ghorair bahūnāṃ bahudhā vane ||
Come—behold the bodies of many sages, their spirits disciplined, slain in diverse ways in this forest by the dreadful rākṣasas.
O Rama we are a group of great sages, mostly brahmins, leading a vanaprastha life. Yet with a protector like you, we are slaughtered in large numbers like orphans.
Dharma includes bearing witness to injustice and responding to it; the invitation to ‘see’ makes protection a concrete moral imperative rather than an abstract ideal.
Sages present physical evidence of atrocities in the forest to move Rāma to decisive action against rākṣasa violence.
Moral clarity and resolve—recognizing wrongdoing plainly and acting to restore safety for those devoted to tapas and truth.