Shloka 3.65.8
रामक्रोधवर्णनम् — Lakshmana’s Counsel to the Enraged Rama
एकस्य तु विमर्धोऽयं न द्वयोर्वदतांवर।।।।न हि वृत्तं हि पश्यामि बलस्य महतः पदम्।
naikasya tu kṛte lokān vināśayitum arhasi |
yuktadaṇḍā hi mṛdavaḥ praśāntā vasudhādhipāḥ ||
You should not destroy the worlds for the sake of a single person. The rulers of the earth must be gentle and composed, and punish only where punishment is truly due.
O, best of the eloquent ! this fight involves only one and not two. I do not see the footprints of a big army.
Rāja-dharma demands proportionate justice: the ruler must remain calm and punish only the guilty, not the world at large.
Lakṣmaṇa explicitly argues against indiscriminate destruction and frames Rāma’s response in terms of kingly ethics.
Praśama (calmness) and yuktadaṇḍa (measured punishment), the hallmarks of righteous governance.