क्षत्रियाणां तु वीराणां वनेषु निरतात्मनाम्।
धनुषा कार्यमेतावदार्तानामभिरक्षणम्।।
kṣatriyāṇāṁ tu vīrāṇāṁ vaneṣu niratātmanām
dhanuṣā kāryam etāvad ārtānām abhirakṣaṇam
kṣatriyāṇām = kṣatriyas; tu = only; vīrāṇām = heroic; vaneṣu = in the forests; nirata-ātmanām = enjoying; dhanuṣā = with a bow; kāryam = should do; etāvat = this much; ārtānām = the distressed creatures; abhirakṣaṇam = protect.
Heroic kṣatriyas should only do this much with a bow: protect the distressed creatures enjoying in the forests.1
1 The weapons are meant to create fear in the rākṣasas so that they don’t disturb the sages who happily practice austerities in the forest. The weapons are not meant to kill them if they are nonviolent. The weapons are only meant for protecting the sages.
“Protect the distressed” means “remove the obstacles experienced by the distressed.”