Shloka 2.107.7
पितृवाक्यपालनम्, गयाश्रुति-उपदेशः, भरतस्य राज्यग्रहण-निर्देशः (Rama’s Counsel on Vows, the Gaya Śruti, and Bharata’s Return to Rule)
तेन पित्राऽहमप्यत्र नियुक्तः पुरुषर्षभ।चतुर्दश वने वासं वर्षाणि वरदानिकम्।।2.107.7।।
tena pitrāham apy atra niyuktaḥ puruṣarṣabha |
caturdaśa vane vāsaṃ varṣāṇi varadānikam || 2.107.7 ||
Therefore, O best of men, I too have been enjoined by my father—according to the boon’s stipulation—to dwell in the forest here for fourteen years.
O best of men, that is why I have been ordered by father to live in the forest for fourteen years as per the (condition of the) boon.
Filial duty aligned with satya: Rāma treats the father’s pledged obligation as binding and accepts exile as a dharmic commitment rather than a negotiable political decision.
Rāma clarifies to Bharata that his forest residence for fourteen years is not arbitrary—it is the direct execution of the boon that Daśaratha was compelled to honor.
Rāma’s steadfastness (dhṛti) and obedience to dharma—accepting hardship to preserve the integrity of truth and royal promise.