तप्यमानं तदा रामं सीताहरणकर्शितम् ।लोकानामभवे युक्तं सांवर्तकमिवानलम् ॥ १ ॥
Seeing Rama then burning, wasted by Sita’s abduction, set on the destruction of the worlds like the fire of dissolution, looking at his strung bow, sighing again and again, wishing to burn the whole world, like Hara at the end of an age,
At the moment Rama becomes most like Rudra the destroyer, Lakshmana becomes his conscience. His argument is practical as well as moral: the tracks show one chariot, one fighter, not an army; it is one person’s crime, so why destroy the worlds? “You should not destroy the worlds for one person’s offence” (verse 6). He reminds Rama of his own nature, gentle and devoted to all beings, as fixed as light in the sun.
His plan is a model of ancient Indian statecraft: search first, then try conciliation, courtesy and policy, and only if they fail, use force. It is exactly the sequence Rama will eventually follow with Ravana: envoys before war. In this moment, the younger brother saves the elder from himself.