Shloka 2.30.30
सीताया वनानुगमननिश्चयः — Sita’s Resolve to Accompany Rama to the Forest
धर्मस्तु गजनासोरु सद्भिराचरितः पुरा।तं चाहमनुवर्तेऽद्य यथा सूर्यं सुवर्चला।।2.30.30।।
dharmas tu gaja-nāsoru sadbhir ācaritaḥ purā | taṃ cāham anuvartye 'dya yathā sūryaṃ suvarcalā || 2.30.30 ||
O you whose thighs are like an elephant’s trunk, dharma was practised long ago by the virtuous; that very dharma I shall follow today, as Suvarcalā follows the Sun.
O one with (shapely) thighs like the trunk of an elephant! follow only the path of righteousness practised earlier by the virtuous as Suvarchala follows the Sun.
Dharma is presented as an inherited moral path (sadācāra): one should follow the righteous conduct established by the virtuous.
Rāma justifies his chosen course by appealing to traditional righteous precedent and exemplary models.
Commitment to moral tradition and steadiness—Rāma frames his action as alignment with established righteousness.