सङ्ग्रामे समुपोढे स्म शतपक्षभयङ्करे।
पलायमानो वध्येत यस्यार्योऽनुमते गतः॥
saṅgrāme samupoḍhe sma śatru-pakṣa-bhayaṅkare
palāyamāno vadhyeta yasyāryo ’numate gataḥ
saṅgrāme = from a battle; samupoḍhe sma = that he is about to face 5; śatru-pakṣa-bhayaṅkare = with his enemies posing dangers [to his life]; palāyamānaḥ = while fleeing; vadhyeta = may be killed; yasya = whose; āryaḥ = noble Rāma; anumate = [he] with consent; gataḥ = departed [to the forest].
May [he] with whose consent noble Rāma departed [to the forest] be killed while fleeing from a battle that he is about to face, with his enemies posing dangers [to his life].1
1 When a kṣatriya who goes to war is faced with sure death and is killed while running away from such a situation, it is very disgraceful according to the principles of Vedic dharma. Such a person accrues sinful reactions because he should have died a hero’s death under such circumstances. The kṣatriya spirit is “die or win.”