Sita tells Rama a story when they are in the forest, said VS Karunakarachariyar in a discourse. Sita mentions three negative traits a man can have. Of these, Sita says dishonesty is a trait Rama does not have. She also says that he never covets another man’s wife. But there is another undesirable quality, which She says Rama must avoid! That is enmity with those who have not harmed Him. When the sages in Dandakaranya ask Rama to protect them from the asuras, Rama promises that He will do so. Sita objects to His killing the asuras, who have not harmed Rama. Once a person starts wielding a weapon, killing becomes second nature to him, she points out.
She narrates the story of a sage. Indra could not break the tapas of this sage. So, Indra, in the guise of a soldier, entrusted a sword to the sage, asking him to keep it safe till he returned. Indra did not return and the sage began to use the knife. He first cut down a banana tree, for no reason at all. He then moved to killing animals. Thus, the mere possession of a sword made a pious man a killer. A king may need to use weapons to protect his subjects. But now that Rama is in the forest, what is the need for weapons? Sita says Rama should not touch his weapons till they get back to Ayodhya. She is firm that Rama should not kill the asuras.
