Shloka 3.64.54
गोदावरीतटे सीतान्वेषणम् — The Search for Sītā at the Godāvarī
कर्तारमपि लोकानां शूरं करुणवेदिनम्।।।।अज्ञानादवमन्येरत्सर्वभूतानि लक्ष्मण।
kartāram api lokānāṃ śūraṃ karuṇavedinam | ajñānād avamanyeran sarvabhūtāni lakṣmaṇa ||
Lakṣmaṇa, through ignorance all beings may even come to disdain the very Creator of the worlds—though heroic and compassionate—if such injustice is seen to prevail.
O Lakshmana! even the compassionate and heroic Creator of the worlds will be disrespected by all beings, however ignorantly (if such things are allowed to happen).
Moral order must be seen to operate: when adharma appears unchecked, faith in righteous governance (even cosmic) is shaken—hence the duty to restore justice.
In grief and outrage, Rāma reflects that beings may lose reverence for the cosmic order if innocent suffering is allowed.
A fierce commitment to justice grounded in compassion.