Shloka 2.21.48
अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः — Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma-based persuasion of Kausalyā
त्वया मया च वैदेह्या लक्ष्मणेन सुमित्रया।पितुर्नियोगे स्थातव्यमेष धर्मस्सनातनः।।2.21.48।।
tvayā mayā ca vaidehyā lakṣmaṇena sumitrayā |
pitur niyoge sthātavyam eṣa dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ ||2.21.48||
By you, by me, by Vaidehī, by Lakṣmaṇa, and by Sumitrā—we must stand by my father’s command. This is the eternal dharma.
You, Sita, Lakshmana, Sumitra and I -- all of us shall abide by the words of my father. This indeed is eternal law.
Dharma is defined as collective fidelity to a rightful command and to truth: the family must uphold the father’s injunction as a timeless moral law.
Rāma generalizes his stance into a family-wide commitment, indicating that all close relations should align with Daśaratha’s order regarding exile.
Rāma’s sense of moral universality: he frames personal suffering as participation in an enduring ethical order (sanātana dharma).