Shloka 13
शततमः सर्गः — Rāma Questions Bharata on Rājadharma
Governance, Counsel, and Public Welfare
कच्चिद्देवान्पित्रून् मातृ़र्गुरून्पितृसमानपि।वृद्धांश्च तात वैद्यांश्च ब्राह्मणांश्चाभिमन्यसे।।।।
kaccid devān pitrūn mātṝr gurūn pitṛsamān api | vṛddhāṃś ca tāta vaidyāṃś ca brāhmaṇāṃś cābhimanyase ||
Wahai adinda, adakah engkau terus memuliakan para dewa, para leluhur, para ibu, para guru, mereka yang setara dengan ayah, orang-orang tua, para tabib, serta para Brahmana?
Dear brother, I trust you continue to pay homage to gods, father, mothers, teachers, relations equal to your father, aged people, physicians and brahmins.
FAQs
Dharma is relational and reverential: society stands on honoring divine order, ancestry, caregivers, teachers, and protectors of health and learning.
Rāma, though exiled, instructs Bharata on the foundations of righteous kingship and personal conduct through a checklist of reverences.
Rāma’s didactic compassion and Bharata’s expected reverence—showing humility before those who sustain dharma and wellbeing.