Shloka 38
इन्द्रजितो यज्ञानुष्ठानं अन्तर्धानं च
Indrajit’s Rite and the Invisible Assault
तमुवाचततोरामोलक्ष्मणंशुभलक्षणम् ।नैकस्यहेतोरक्षांसिपृथिव्यांहन्तुमर्हसि ।।।।
tam uvāca tato rāmo lakṣmaṇaṃ śubhalakṣaṇam | naikasyā heto rakṣāṃsi pṛthivyāṃ hantum arhasi ||
Então Rāma disse a Lakṣmaṇa, de sinais auspiciosos: «Por causa de um só, não deves matar os Rākṣasas por toda a terra».
To Lakshmana, gifted with auspicious signs, Rama said" for the sake of killing one Rakshasa, you are not to kill all the Rakshasas on the earth."
FAQs
Proportionality and restraint: dharma forbids indiscriminate violence. Even when wronged, one must not punish the many for the fault of one.
Lakṣmaṇa proposes using the Brahmāstra broadly; Rāma restrains him, insisting on measured action rather than mass destruction.
Rāma’s maryādā (ethical boundaries) and self-control—he upholds righteous limits even under extreme provocation.