Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 18, Shloka 35
अष्टादशः सर्गः
Kaikeyī Discloses the Boons: Exile to Daṇḍaka and Bharata’s Consecration
सन्निदेशे पितुस्तिष्ठ यथा तेन प्रतिश्रुतम्।त्वयाऽरण्यं प्रवेष्टव्यं नव वर्षाणि पञ्च च।।।।
sannideśe pituḥ tiṣṭha yathā tena pratiśrutam |
tvayā araṇyaṃ praveṣṭavyaṃ nava varṣāṇi pañca ca ||2.18.35||
পিতার আদেশে স্থির থাকো, যেমন তিনি প্রতিশ্রুতি দিয়েছেন; তোমাকে নয় বছর ও আরও পাঁচ বছর—মোট চৌদ্দ বছর—অরণ্যে প্রবেশ করতে হবে।
Abide by your father's command. As promised by him go to the forest for fourteen years.
FAQs
Dharma as obedience to a legitimate paternal/royal command, grounded in satya—keeping a pledged term even when it demands hardship.
Kaikeyī articulates the specific condition of the boon: Rāma must go to the forest for fourteen years.
The virtue targeted is Rāma’s steadfast compliance with duty (pitṛ-ājñā-pālana), which becomes the hallmark of his righteousness.