Shloka 3.66.12
लक्ष्मणोपदेशः — Lakshmana Consoles Rama on Fate, Fortitude, and Right Action
शक्रादिष्वपि देवेषु वर्तमानौ नयानयौ।श्रूयेते नरशार्दूल न त्वं शोचितुमर्हसि।।3.66.12।।
śakrādiṣv api deveṣu vartamānau nayānayau |
śrūyete naraśārdūla na tvaṃ śocitum arhasi || 3.66.12 ||
O tiger among men, it is said that even among the gods—Indra and the rest—both right conduct and its opposite are at work. Since such fluctuations occur even there, you are not fit to sink into lamentation.
It is I heard that Indra and other deities are also governed by the principle of justice. Therefore, you should not bewail, O tiger among men.
Dharma requires self-mastery amid moral complexity: the world contains both naya and anaya; one must not surrender to grief but act with steadiness.
Lakshmana challenges Rama’s lamentation by noting that even divine realms are not free from reversals, implying Rama must rise to action.
Rama’s expected kingship-virtue: composure and readiness to respond wisely rather than emotionally.