Valmiki Ramayana 2.109.4: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 109, Shloka 4
सत्यधर्मप्रतिपादनम्
Rama’s Defense of Truth and Dharma in Reply to Jabali
कुलीनमकुलीनं वा वीरं पुरुषमानिनम् ।
चारित्रमेव व्याख्याति शुचिं वा यदि वाऽशुचिम् ॥४॥
kulīnam akulīnaṃ vā vīraṃ puruṣamāninam |
cāritram eva vyākhyāti śuciṃ vā yadi vā'śucim ||4||
कोई बड़ा आदमी है या नहीं, बहादुर है या सिर्फ दिखावा करता है, साफ है या गंदा, सबसे सिर्फ उसका करेक्टर पता चलता है।
It is only the character that tells whether a man is high-born or not, brave or onlyproud of his manliness, honest or dishonest.
FAQs
Dharma is measured by lived conduct (cāritra), not by birth-status, outward reputation, or self-asserted masculinity.
In the forest-exile episode, Rāma responds to counsel by grounding his position in dharma: social labels and claims are secondary to moral character.
Integrity—inner moral consistency that makes purity, nobility, and courage genuine rather than performative.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Valmiki Ramayana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
