एकस्य नापराधेन लोकान्हन्तुं त्वमर्हसि।
न तु जानामि कस्यायं भग्नः साङ्ग्रामिको रथः।
केन वा कस्य वा हेतोः सायुधः सपरिच्छदः॥
ekasya nāparādhena lokān hantuṁ tvam arhasi
na tu jānāmi kasyāyaṁ bhagnaḥ sāṅgrāmiko rathaḥ
kena vā kasya vā hetoḥ sāyudhaḥ saparicchadaḥ
ekasya = of one; na = not; aparādhena = because of the offense; lokān = [all] the worlds; hantum = kill; tvam = You; arhasi = should; na = not; tu = but; jānāmi = I do know; kasya = whose; ayam = these are; bhagnaḥ = broken; sāṅgrāmikaḥ = war; rathaḥ = chariot; kena vā = and which enemy [broke them]; kasya vā = for what; hetoḥ = purpose; sa-āyudhaḥ = weapons; sa-paricchadaḥ = and associates.
Because of the offense of one, You should not kill [all] the worlds. But I do not know whose broken war chariot, weapons and associates these are and which enemy [broke them] for what purpose.
Lakṣmaṇa implies the following. A single chariot was seen [there]. Only a single person’s footprint was visible there. Therefore, it was clear that there was only a single offender and Rāmacandra shouldn’t kill everyone because of the offense of one.
Śrī Rāma might ask, “Then, who is that offender?” Lakṣmaṇa answers it in the second and third lines of this verse. These were things to be thought about.
NOTE. Anger pollutes our consciousness and this has been demonstrated by Lord Rāmacandra in the previous chapter.
In this regard, it should be noted that a fully Kṛṣṇa conscious person is free from attachment, fear and anger according to Bhagavad-gītā 2.56. In his purport to that verse, Prabhupāda describes the nature of such a person as follows:
He is called praśānta-niḥśeṣa-mano-rathāntara (Stotra-ratna 43), or one who has surpassed the stage of mental speculations and has come to the conclusion that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, or Vāsudeva, is everything (vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ). He is called a muni fixed in mind. Such a fully Kṛṣṇa conscious person is not at all disturbed by the onslaughts of the threefold miseries, for he accepts all miseries as the mercy of the Lord, thinking himself only worthy of more trouble due to his past misdeeds; and he sees that his miseries, by the grace of the Lord, are minimized to the lowest. Similarly, when he is happy he gives credit to the Lord, thinking himself unworthy of the happiness; he realizes that it is due only to the Lord’s grace that he is in such a comfortable condition and able to render better service to the Lord. And, for the service of the Lord, he is always daring and active and is not influenced by attachment or aversion. Attachment means accepting things for one’s own sense gratification, and detachment is the absence of such sensual attachment. But one fixed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness has neither attachment nor detachment because his life is dedicated in the service of the Lord. Consequently he is not at all angry even when his attempts are unsuccessful.