Shloka 316
कण्वोपदेशः—नश्वरबलविवेकः तथा मातलिगुणकेश्याः आख्यानारम्भः
Kaṇva’s Counsel on Impermanent Power; Opening of the Mātali–Guṇakeśī Narrative
निमित्तवेधी स मुनिरिषीकाभि: समार्पयत् | इस प्रकार लक्ष्यवेध करनेवाले नर मुनिने मायाद्वारा सींकके बाणोंसे ही दम्भोद्धवके सैनिकोंकी आँखों, कानों और नासिकाओंको बींध डाला
nimittavedhī sa munir ṛṣīkābhiḥ samārpayat |
Rama dijo: «Aquel sabio, célebre como arquero infalible, encajó sus flechas y, por el poder de la ilusión, atravesó los ojos, los oídos y las narices de los soldados de Dambhodbhava con nada más que flechas de caña.»
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights disciplined mastery and the ethical tension in warfare: superior power can be used to incapacitate rather than annihilate, suggesting restraint and proportional response even amid hostility.
Rama narrates how a sage renowned for perfect aim readied reed-arrows and, through māyā, struck the enemy soldiers’ sensory organs (eyes, ears, noses), disabling them with precise, non-lethal targeting rather than mass killing.