Shloka 2.30.31
सीताया वनानुगमननिश्चयः — Sita’s Resolve to Accompany Rama to the Forest
न खल्वहं न गच्छेयं वनं जनकनन्दिनि।वचनं तन्नयति मां पितु स्सत्योपबृंहितम्।।2.30.31।।
na khalv ahaṃ na gaccheyaṃ vanaṃ janaka-nandini | vacanaṃ tan nayati māṃ pituḥ satyopabṛṃhitam || 2.30.31 ||
It is not that I would not go to the forest, O Janaka’s daughter; my father’s command—strengthened by truth—leads me there.
Not that I shall not go to the forest (go I must). My father's word nourished by truth isleading me there, O daughter of Janaka!
Satya and obedience to a father’s truthful command are treated as binding dharma, even when they demand personal loss.
Rāma clarifies that exile is not optional; he goes because Daśaratha’s word, grounded in truth, compels him.
Filial piety and truth-allegiance—Rāma subordinates preference to the moral force of a truthful promise.