Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 63, Shloka 31
दशरथस्य शोकानुचिन्तनं शब्धवेधि-दोषस्मरणं च
Daśaratha’s grief, karmic reflection, and the remembered ‘śabdavedhī’ misdeed
जटाभारधरस्यैव वल्कलाजिनवाससः।को वधेन ममर्थी स्यात्किंवाऽस्यापकृतं मया।।2.63.31।।
jaṭā-bhāra-dharasyaiva valkalājinavāsasaḥ |
ko vadhena mamārthī syāt kiṃ vā 'syāpakṛtaṃ mayā || 2.63.31 ||
Who would desire my death—me who bears the burden of matted hair and wears bark-cloth and antelope-skin? What harm have I done to him?
'Who wants to kill me who lives like an ascetic with matted hair and wearing bark or the skin of an antelope? What harm have I done to him?
FAQs
Dharma asks for proportionality and cause: harming a harmless person violates justice and compassion.
The wounded ascetic points to his renunciant appearance as evidence of harmlessness and asks who could want him dead.
Simplicity and harmless living—his ascetic markers symbolize withdrawal from worldly aggression.