Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 21, Shloka 41
अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः
Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma-based persuasion of Kausalyā
संश्रुत्य च पितुर्वाक्यं मातुर्वा ब्राह्मणस्य वा।न कर्तव्यं वृथा वीर धर्ममाश्रित्य तिष्ठता।।2.21.41।।
saṃśrutya ca pitur vākyaṃ mātur vā brāhmaṇasya vā |
na kartavyaṃ vṛthā vīra dharmam āśritya tiṣṭhatā ||2.21.41||
Und hat man einmal sein Wort gegeben — dem Vater, der Mutter oder einem Brāhmaṇa — so darf, o Held, wer im Dharma Zuflucht nimmt und darin steht, nicht zulassen, dass dieses Versprechen vergeblich werde.
Any one, O hero, who has taken recourse to righteousness should not allow the promise made to his father, mother or a brahmin to go in vain.
FAQs
Satya as lived dharma: once a promise is given—especially to parents or a brāhmaṇa—it must not be rendered meaningless. Dharma is defined as integrity in one’s pledged word.
Rāma counsels Lakṣmaṇa against resisting the exile order, framing obedience as necessary to keep the father’s pledged word from becoming futile.
Rāma’s reliability and ethical consistency: he treats spoken commitments as binding moral realities.