Valmiki Ramayana 2.21.42: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 21, Shloka 42
अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः · Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma
based persuasion of Kausalyā
Spoken by Rama to LakṣmaṇaSetting: Ayodhyā (palace)Pre-departure (exile impending)
सोऽहं न शक्ष्यामि पितुर्नियोगमतिवर्तितुम् ।
पितुर्हिवचनाद्वीर कैकेय्याऽहं प्रचोदितः ॥४२॥
so ’haṃ na śakṣyāmi pitur niyogam ativartitum |
pitur hi vacanād vīra kaikeyyā ’haṃ pracoditaḥ ||42||
ดังนั้นข้าพเจ้าจึงไม่อาจล่วงละเมิดพระบัญชาของพระบิดาได้ โอ้วีรบุรุษ ก็เพราะพระดำรัสของพระบิดานั่นเอง ไกเกยีจึงเร่งเร้าให้ข้าพเจ้า (ไปสู่การเนรเทศ)
Sandhi Notes
- सोऽहम् = saḥ + aham
- पितुर्नियोगम् = pituḥ + niyogam
- नियोगमतिवर्तितुम् = niyogam + ativartitum
- पितुर्हि = pituḥ + hi
- वचनाद्वीर = vacanāt + vīra
- कैकेय्याऽहम् = kaikeyyā + aham
O hero! I cannot transgress the command of my father since at his instance only Kaikeyi urged me (to go to the forest).
The teaching
Even when urged by another, one must not transgress the father’s command when it is bound to truth and royal promise.
Duties in tension
- Obedience to father’s command vs resisting an unjust instigation
- Protecting royal order vs personal grievance against Kaikeyī
- Ethical theme
- Pitṛ-bhakti / satya-rakṣaṇa
- How it resolves
- Filial obedience grounded in dharma
Devotion and practice
Cultivates kṣamā (forbearance) and niyama (discipline) in adversity; supports equanimity practice.
- Mantra
- पितुर्नियोगम् अतिवर्तितुम्
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Pained, resigned, duty-bound
Themes
- Dharma
- Obedience
- Pitṛ-vākya
- Renunciation
- Ethics
Agency constrained by dharma: acting without egoic resistance, accepting ordained duty as niyati within ethical order.
Echo of self-restraint and truthfulness as tapas; acceptance of duty over personal preference aligns with Upaniṣadic discipline (tapas, dama).
- Rama and Dasharatha
- Son’s inability to transgress father’s injunction (reverent)
- Rama and Lakshmana
- Explaining rationale to younger brother (‘vīra’) (steadying)
- Kaikeyi and Rama
- Queen’s demand causing exile; coercive impetus (strained)
- Kaikeyi and Dasharatha
- Wife invoking boons; pressure on king’s word (coercive)
Mahābhārata: kings bound by given word/boons; consequences of boon-ethics; Rāmacaritamānasa: Kaikeyī’s role as instrument of exile; Rāma’s obedience to father’s word
Dharma literature on inviolability of a king’s promise
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Daśaratha’s boons to Kaikeyī; Rāma’s consistent refusal to violate pitṛ-vākya
Anuṣṭup (Śloka)
Grieving
Lower register with gentle cadence; emphasis on “न शक्ष्यामि” and “अतिवर्तितुम्”
FAQs
Dharma here is obedience to a legitimate parental command, even when the immediate cause (Kaikeyī’s urging) is painful. The father’s word is treated as morally binding.
Lakṣmaṇa is agitated; Rāma explains that he will not violate Daśaratha’s command, and that Kaikeyī’s role operates through the father’s pledged word.
Rāma’s self-restraint and fidelity to duty: he refuses to justify disobedience even under provocation.
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