Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 75, Shloka 38
अयोध्याकाण्डे पञ्चसप्ततितमः सर्गः
Sarga 75: Bharata and Kausalya—Reproach, Oaths, and Reconciliation
लाक्षया मधुमांसेन लोहेन च विषेण च।सदैव बिभृयाद्भृत्यान्यस्यार्योऽनुमते गतः।।।।
lākṣayā madhumāṃsena lohena ca viṣeṇa ca | sadaiva bibhṛyād bhṛtyān yasyāryo ’numate gataḥ ||
যার অনুমতিতে আমার আর্য ভ্রাতা বনবাসে গেছেন, সে যেন লাক্ষা, মদ্য, মাংস, লোহা ও বিষের ব্যবসা করেই সর্বদা আশ্রিতদের পালন করে—এবং সেই কর্মের দোষভাগী হয়।
May the one who counselled the exile of my esteemed brother acquire the same sin as one who supports his wife and children by trafficking in lac, wine, meat and metal and poison acquires!
FAQs
Dharma includes purity of livelihood: sustaining a household through harmful or morally suspect trades is condemned as ethically corrupt.
Bharata continues his moral denunciation, comparing the instigator’s guilt to that of living by blameworthy means.
Bharata’s insistence that ends do not justify means—righteousness must govern both action and livelihood.