Shloka 3.37.8
मारीचोपदेशः — Maricha’s Counsel to Ravana (On Rama’s Dharma and the Peril of Abduction)
न च पित्रा परित्यक्तो नामर्यादः कथञ्चन।न लुब्धो न च दुश्शीलो न च क्षत्रियपांसनः।।।।न च धर्मगुणैर्हीनः कौसल्यानन्दवर्धनः।न तीक्ष्णो न च भूतानां सर्वेषामहिते रतः।।।।
na ca pitrā parityakto nāmaryādaḥ kathañcana |
na lubdho na ca duśśīlo na ca kṣatriyapāṁsanaḥ ||
na ca dharmaguṇair hīnaḥ kausalyānandavardhanaḥ |
na tīkṣṇo na ca bhūtānāṁ sarveṣām ahite rataḥ ||
Rāma—who gladdens Kausalyā—has not been cast off by his father, nor has he ever overstepped the bounds of dharma. He is not greedy, not ill-conducted, and not a disgrace to the kṣatriyas. He is not lacking in righteous qualities; he is not harsh, nor is he devoted to the harm of any being.
Rama, the delight of Kausalya, has not forsaken by his father. He has never crossed the limits of dharma. He is not miserly. He has no bad conduct. He is not a slur on the kshatriyas. He does not lack in righteousness. He is not cruel nor is he engaged in doing harm to others.
It defines dharma not as mere status but as lived restraint (maryādā), freedom from greed and misconduct, and active non-harm toward all beings—qualities presented as Rāma’s ethical identity.
“Amaryādaḥ” means crossing rightful limits—acting without self-restraint or against dharma; the verse asserts that Rāma never violates these boundaries, aligning him with satya (truthfulness) and moral order.