Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 24, Shloka 27
कौशल्यारामसंवादः
Kausalya–Rama Dialogue on Exile-Dharma
शुश्रूषामेव कुर्वीत भर्तुः प्रियहिते रता।एष धर्मः पुरा दृष्टो लोके वेदे श्रुतः स्मृतः।।2.24.27।।
śuśrūṣām eva kurvīta bhartuḥ priyahite ratā |
eṣa dharmaḥ purā dṛṣṭo loke vede śrutaḥ smṛtaḥ || 2.24.27 ||
Que ella preste servicio únicamente, dedicada a lo que es grato y benéfico para su esposo. Éste es el dharma: visto desde antiguo en el mundo, oído en los Vedas y confirmado por las Smṛtis.
For my sake, O devi! worship the fire-god with offerings of oblations and flowers, and brahmins who are true to religious vows.
FAQs
Dharma is framed as socially and scripturally validated duty: steadfast, benevolent service within one’s role, aligned with what supports the household’s moral order.
As Rāma prepares to depart for exile, he instructs his mother on proper conduct and religious-ethical stability during his absence.
Rāma’s maryādā (normative righteousness): he anchors advice in tradition (loka), revelation (Veda), and remembered law (Smṛti).