Shloka 22
षष्ठस्सर्गः — तपस्विरक्षणे राजधर्मोपदेशः
Sarga 6: The Sages’ Appeal and Instruction on Royal Duty
नैवमर्हथ मां वक्तुमाज्ञाप्योऽहं तपस्विनाम्।केवलेनात्मकार्येण प्रवेष्टव्यं मया वनं।।।।
naivam arhatha māṃ vaktum ājñāpyo'haṃ tapasvinām | kevalenātmakāryeṇa praveṣṭavyaṃ mayā vanaṃ ||
تمہیں یوں مجھ سے کہنا زیب نہیں دیتا؛ میں تو تپسویوں کے حکم کا پابند ہوں۔ اور میں محض اپنے ذاتی کام کے لیے اکیلا اس جنگل میں داخل نہیں ہوا۔
You should not speak to me this way. I deserve to be commanded by the ascetics. I have not entered this forest only on a personal mission.
FAQs
Dharma joins power with humility: even a prince treats ascetics as moral superiors and frames his forest-life as duty, not self-interest.
Rāma begins his reply, correcting the tone of praise and clarifying his role as one obligated to serve and protect the tapasvins.
Vinaya (humility) and satya (candour): Rāma truthfully states he is not in the forest only for personal ends.