Ramayana — 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।।2.96.24।।
bharatasya vadhe doṣaṃ nāhaṃ paśyāmi rāghava | pūrvāpakāriṇaṃ hatvā na hy adharmena yujyate || 2.96.24 ||
ಹೇ ರಾಘವ! ಭರತನ ವಧೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ದೋಷವನ್ನೇ ಕಾಣುವುದಿಲ್ಲ; ಹಿಂದೆ ಅಪಕಾರ ಮಾಡಿದವನನ್ನು ಸಂಹರಿಸುವುದರಿಂದ ನಿಶ್ಚಯವಾಗಿ ಅಧರ್ಮಕ್ಕೆ ಸೇರುವುದಿಲ್ಲ.
O Rama, Bharata has abandoned righteousness and has harmed you. When he is slain, you shall rule over the whole earth.
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.