अपि स्वस्ति भवेत्ताभ्यां रहिताभ्यां महावने।
जनस्थाननिमित्तं हि कृतवैरोऽस्मि राक्षसैः॥
api svasti bhavet tābhyāṁ rahitābhyāṁ mahā-vane
janasthāna-nimittaṁ hi kṛta-vairo ’smi rākṣasaiḥ
api = are; svasti bhavet = safe; tābhyām = both of them; rahitābhyām = without [Me]; mahā-vane = in the great forest; janasthāna-nimittam = because of residing in Janasthāna; hi = indeed; kṛta-vairaḥ asmi = I have incurred the enmity; rākṣasaiḥ = of the rākṣasas.
Are both of them safe without [Me] in the great forest? Indeed, I have incurred the enmity of the rākṣasas because of residing in Janasthāna.1
1 This is a very accurate representation of what had actually taken place in this regard. Lord Rāma didn’t proactively harm any of the rākṣasas. When Śūrpaṇakhā wanted to kill Sītā-devī, Śrī Rāma had her mutilated in defense, which is what a dutiful husband of a chaste wife should do according to Vedic dharma. Therefore, the Lord has stated here that His mere residence in Janasthāna made the rākṣasas inimical to Him. Students of the Sixteenth Chapter of Bhagavad-gītā know that conditioned souls with a demoniac mentality are naturally inimical to Him and others—they just can’t help tormenting others or at least try to torment others because they are para-sukha-duḥkhī. Pious souls are the very opposite of this, for they are para-duḥkha-duḥkhī.