Ramayana — 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।।2.109.4।।
kulīnam akulīnaṃ vā vīraṃ puruṣamāninam |
cāritram eva vyākhyāti śuciṃ vā yadi vā'śucim || 2.109.4 ||
Entah seseorang benar-benar berdarah mulia atau tidak, sungguh pemberani atau hanya membanggakan kelelakiannya, suci atau tidak suci—hanya akhlak dan laku hidupnyalah yang menyingkapkan semuanya.
Men superior to you in preceding generations had conquered this world and the other world by always performing many auspicious acts. Twice-born brahmins perform religious acts and offer libations for the welfare of the world.
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.