Valmiki Ramayana 2.21.41: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 21, Shloka 41
अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः · Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma
based persuasion of Kausalyā
Spoken by Rama to LakṣmaṇaSetting: Ayodhyā (royal precincts)
संश्रुत्य च पितुर्वाक्यं मातुर्वा ब्राह्मणस्य वा ।
न कर्तव्यं वृथा वीर धर्ममाश्रित्य तिष्ठता ॥४१॥
saṃśrutya ca pitur vākyaṃ mātur vā brāhmaṇasya vā |
na kartavyaṃ vṛthā vīra dharmam āśritya tiṣṭhatā ||41||
पिता, माता किंवा ब्राह्मण यांना एकदा वचन दिल्यावर—धर्मनिष्ठ असणाऱ्याने, हे वीर, ते वचन व्यर्थ होऊ देऊ नये।
Sandhi Notes
- पितुर्वाक्यम् = pituḥ + vākyam
- मातुर्वा = mātuḥ + vā
- धर्ममाश्रित्य = dharmam + āśritya
Any one, O hero, who has taken recourse to righteousness should not allow the promise made to his father, mother or a brahmin to go in vain.
The teaching
Once one has given one’s word—especially to parents or a brāhmaṇa—dharma requires it not be rendered vain.
Duties in tension
- Impulsive retaliation/violence vs fidelity to pledged word
- Protecting family honor through force vs protecting honor through truthfulness
- Ethical theme
- Satya / pratijñā-pālana
- How it resolves
- Vow-ethics (pratijñā-pālana)
Devotion and practice
Practice of satya in speech; supports vrata discipline and mindful commitments.
- Mantra
- न कर्तव्यं वृथा
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Shanta (peace), with Vira (heroism)
- Mood
- Vow-bound, ethical, restrained
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Promise-keeping
- Social ethics
- Vows
Speech as a moral instrument; alignment of vāk with satya as inner purity (antaḥkaraṇa-śuddhi) prerequisite for higher knowledge.
Chāndogya Upaniṣad’s valorization of satya; Taittirīya’s injunctions on truth and dharma as daily discipline.
- Rama and Lakshmana
- Elder brother instructing younger brother (‘vīra’) (firmly affectionate)
Mahābhārata: vow-keeping as kṣatriya and sādhūnām lakṣaṇa (various Śānti/Anuśāsana teachings); Manusmṛti: satya and promise-keeping, especially toward brāhmaṇas; Rāmacaritamānasa: emphasis on ‘pratijñā’ and ‘bachan’ as inviolable
Vedic sanctity of speech (vāc) and truth
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Rāma’s repeated framing of exile as promise-keeping; Lakṣmaṇa’s anger restrained by dharma counsel
Anuṣṭup (Śloka)
Commanding
Clear, slightly elevated udātta on “न कर्तव्यं वृथा” to mark prohibition
FAQs
Satya as lived dharma: once a promise is given—especially to parents or a brāhmaṇa—it must not be rendered meaningless. Dharma is defined as integrity in one’s pledged word.
Rāma counsels Lakṣmaṇa against resisting the exile order, framing obedience as necessary to keep the father’s pledged word from becoming futile.
Rāma’s reliability and ethical consistency: he treats spoken commitments as binding moral realities.
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