Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 75, Shloka 26
अयोध्याकाण्डे पञ्चसप्ततितमः सर्गः
Sarga 75: Bharata and Kausalya—Reproach, Oaths, and Reconciliation
संश्रुत्य च तपस्विभ्यस्सत्रे वै यज्ञदक्षिणाम्।तां विप्रलपतां पापं यस्यार्योऽनुमते गतः।।।।
saṁśrutya ca tapasvibhyaḥ satre vai yajña-dakṣiṇām |
tāṁ vipralapatāṁ pāpaṁ yasyāryo 'numate gataḥ ||
May sin fall upon the one by whose counsel my noble brother was exiled—like the sin of a man who, at a sattrayajña, promises the sacrificial gift (dakṣiṇā) to ascetics and then deceitfully withholds it.
May the one who counselled the exile of my esteemed brother acquire the sin in the same way as a person acquires for having promised the ascetics the required offering at a sacrifice and later denies them!
FAQs
Satya and fidelity to promises—especially in sacred contexts—are dharma; reneging on vowed gifts is a serious moral fault.
Bharata likens the counsel behind Rāma’s exile to religious deceit: making vows and then denying them.
Reverence for truth and ritual integrity—Bharata treats broken promises as spiritually corrosive.