Valmiki Ramayana 2.14.8: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 14, Shloka 8
सत्यपाशः · Kaikeyi’s Demand and the Noose of the King’s Promise
Spoken by Kaikeyi to DasharathaSetting: Ayodhyā palace (private chamber where boons are invoked)
सत्यं समनुवर्तस्व यदि धर्मे धृता मतिः ।
सफलस्स वरो मेऽस्तु वरदो ह्यसि सत्तम ॥८॥
satyaṃ samanuvartasva yadi dharme dhṛtā matiḥ |
saphalaḥ sa varo me ’stu varado hy asi sattama ||8||
Jika fikiranmu benar-benar teguh dalam dharma, maka ikutilah kebenaran. Semoga anugerah yang diberikan kepadaku menjadi sempurna—kerana engkaulah pemberi kurnia, wahai insan termulia.
Sandhi Notes
- सफलस्स = सफलः + सः
- मेऽस्तु = मे + अस्तु
- वरदो ह्यसि = वरदः + हि + असि
O excellent one, if your mind is firmly fixed in righteousness, then by following it fulfil the boon granted to me.You are the bestower of boons indeed
The teaching
Dharma can be invoked as a weapon; therefore discernment (viveka) is needed to distinguish true dharma from self-serving argument.
Duties in tension
- Keeping a promised boon (satya, dāna-dharma)
- Protecting son and kingdom from unjust harm (pitṛdharma, rājadharma)
- Ethical theme
- Promise ethics vs welfare ethics
- How it resolves
- Coercive appeal to satya (promise prioritized by speaker)
For your practice
Practice satya with compassion; avoid using 'dharma' language to coerce others; keep vows but examine intent and consequences.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Raudra (fury), with Karuna (compassion)
- Mood
- Insistent, moralizing, tightening
Themes
- Satya
- Dharma
- Ethics
- Royal Vow
The insistence that inner resolve (mati) must align with satya echoes the Vedāntic stress on saṅkalpa-śuddhi and integrity between thought and speech.
Resonates with Taittirīya’s ethical training: truthfulness as a foundational discipline; also the idea that the 'giver of boons' must be true to his word (satya-saṅkalpa motif, broadly).
- Kaikeyi and Dasharatha
- Wife invoking husband’s dharma and past promise (insistent)
- Dasharatha and Dharma
- King urged to keep mind fixed in dharma (exhortative)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.14.7-9 (satya → boon → exile argument chain)
Mahābhārata: vow-keeping kings (e.g., Śibi/Harischandra traditions in Purāṇic/Itihāsa milieu)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Daśaratha’s two boons to Kaikeyī as the binding cause of exile
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Commanding
Raised register on imperatives; firm cadence
FAQs
Dharma is framed as fidelity to satya and to one’s pledged word: if the king claims righteousness, he must make his promise effective by fulfilling the boon.
Kaikeyī presses Daśaratha to honor his earlier promise of granting her boons, using dharma and truth as moral leverage.
The kingly virtue of keeping one’s word (satya and pratijñā-pālana), even under personal distress.
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