Valmiki Ramayana 2.96.24: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 96, Shloka 24
चित्रकूटे सैन्यधूलिशब्ददर्शनम्
Alarm at Chitrakūṭa: Lakṣmaṇa sights the approaching army
भरतस्य वधे दोषं नाहं पश्यामि राघव ।
पूर्वापकारिणं हत्वा न ह्यधर्मेण युज्यते ॥२४॥
bharatasya vadhe doṣaṃ nāhaṃ paśyāmi rāghava |
pūrvāpakāriṇaṃ hatvā na hy adharmena yujyate ||24||
हे राघव, मैं कोई दोष नहीं देखता भरत को मारने में। जो पहले बुरा करता है, उसे मारने में कोई पाप नहीं होता।
O Rama, I do not see anything wrong in slaying Bharata. In killing one who had done harm is not an act of unrighteousness.
FAQs
It raises the contested idea of retaliatory justice: whether harming a perceived wrongdoer can be considered dharmic—an issue the narrative later corrects through truth and reconciliation.
Lakṣmaṇa argues that killing Bharata would be justified, interpreting Bharata as an earlier offender responsible for their suffering.
A warrior’s sense of punitive justice—yet it also exposes the need for temperance and verification before action.
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