Shloka 3.67.4
जटायुवृत्तान्तः — Jatāyu’s Testimony and Rāma’s Grief
तं तथा परितापार्तं लक्ष्मणो राममब्रवीत्।इदमेव जनस्थानं त्वमन्वेषितुमर्हसि।।।।राक्षसैर्बहुभिः कीर्णं नानाद्रुमलतायुतम्।
santīha giridurgāṇi nirdarāḥ kandarāṇi ca || (3.67.5) || guhāś ca vividhā ghorā nānā-mṛgagaṇākulāḥ | āvāsāḥ kinnarāṇāṁ ca gandharva-bhavanāni ca || (3.67.6) ||
There are arduous mountain tracts, ravines, and caves—dreadful caverns thronged with many beasts—and also the dwellings of the Kinnaras and the mansions of the Gandharvas.
Lakshmana said to Rama, afflicted with grief, It is proper for you to (first) search in this Janasthana, covered with different kinds of trees and creepers, and teeming with demons.
Even in repeated transmission, the ethical thrust remains: duty demands entering and examining perilous spaces rather than shrinking back.
A duplicated/overlapping verse reiterates Lakṣmaṇa’s mapping of the terrain to be searched.
Persistence and thoroughness—qualities required for a righteous search amid uncertainty.