Shloka 3.9.7
सीताया धर्मोपदेशः—शस्त्रसंयोगदोषकथा (Sita’s Counsel on Dharma and the Peril of Weapon-Association)
सत्यसन्ध महाभाग श्रीमल्लक्ष्मणपूर्वज।।3.9.7।।त्वयि धर्मश्च सत्यं च त्वयि सर्वं प्रतिष्ठितम्।
satya-sandha mahā-bhāga śrīman lakṣmaṇa-pūrvaja |
tvayi dharmaś ca satyaṁ ca tvayi sarvaṁ pratiṣṭhitam || 3.9.7 ||
O you who are true to your pledge—fortunate and illustrious elder brother of Lakshmana—in you abide both dharma and truth; indeed, in you all is firmly established.
O Rama, you are truthful, honourable, powerful. O elder brother of Lakshmana, in you is established truth and righteousness.
The verse equates dharma with satya (truth) and presents them as mutually reinforcing foundations of a righteous life and righteous leadership.
Rama is being addressed as the embodiment of dharma and truth, reinforcing his role as the standard for ethical conduct within the epic’s moral universe.
Satya-sandhatva—steadfast fidelity to truth and vows—portrayed as the basis upon which all virtues remain stable.