Shloka 3.9.25
सीताया धर्मोपदेशः—शस्त्रसंयोगदोषकथा (Sita’s Counsel on Dharma and the Peril of Weapon-Association)
एवमेतत्पुरा वृत्तं शस्त्रसंयोगकारणम्।।3.9.24।।अग्निसंयोगवद्धेतुश्शस्त्रसंयोग उच्यते।स्नेहाच्च बहुमानाच्च स्मारये त्वां न शिक्षये।।3.9.25।।
na kathañcana sā kāryā gṛhītadhanuṣā tvayā | buddhir vairaṃ vinā hantuṃ rākṣasān daṇḍakāśritān || aparādhaṃ vinā hantuṃ lokān vīra na kāmaye |
By you who bear the bow, such an intention should never be formed—to slay the rākṣasas dwelling in Daṇḍaka without enmity or provocation. O hero, I do not wish for anyone to be killed without an offence having been committed.
Contact with the weapon has led to this in the past. Like contact with fire, it leads man to destruction. I say this out of my love and reverence for you as a reminder and not as an instruction.
Violence must be morally grounded: killing without offence or provocation violates dharma; force is legitimate only as a response to wrongdoing and for protection.
Rama is cautioned against forming a blanket intent to kill forest-dwelling rākṣasas absent specific hostility or अपराध (wrongdoing).
Restraint and justice—power under ethical control, not driven by pre-emptive aggression.