Previous Verse
Next Verse

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 |

Рама сказал: «Тот мудрец, прославленный как безошибочный стрелок, наложил стрелы и силою майи пронзил глаза, уши и ноздри воинов Дамбходбхавы — одними лишь стрелами из тростника».

निमित्तवेधीone who hits the target (lit. target-piercer)
निमित्तवेधी:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootनिमित्त-वेधिन्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
सःhe
सः:
Karta
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
मुनिःsage
मुनिः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootमुनि
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
ऋषीकाभिःwith (his) arrows
ऋषीकाभिः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootऋषीका
FormFeminine, Instrumental, Plural
समार्पयत्he discharged / he sent forth
समार्पयत्:
TypeVerb
Rootसम् + अर्प्
FormImperfect, 3, Singular

राम उवाच

R
Rama
T
the sage (muni)
D
Dambhodbhava
S
soldiers of Dambhodbhava
R
reed-arrows (ṛṣīkā)

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.