Ramayana — Sundara Kanda, Sarga 67, Shloka 16
अभिज्ञानवृत्तान्त-प्रत्यायनम्
Token of Recognition and the Crow–Brahmāstra Episode
मोघमस्त्रं न शक्यं तु कर्तुमित्येव राघव।।।।भवांस्तस्याक्षि काकस्य हिनस्ति स्म स दक्षिणम्।
mogham astraṃ na śakyaṃ tu kartum ity eva rāghava | bhavāṃs tasyākṣi kākasya hinasti sma sa dakṣiṇam |
“Senjata suci yang telah dilepaskan tidak dapat dijadikan sia-sia,”—maka, wahai Rāghava, ia pun mengenai mata kanan gagak itu.
'O Rama! since a divine weapon cannot be withdrawn, it did strike his right eye'.
FAQs
One must act responsibly with power: once a righteous force is invoked, it carries consequences; dharma requires measured use and acceptance of the results.
Sītā explains that Rāma’s released missile could not be nullified, so it took a lesser penalty—blinding the crow’s right eye.
Rāma’s integrity and disciplined use of force—he does not act capriciously, and the outcome is constrained by the law of the weapon.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Valmiki Ramayana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.