Valmiki Ramayana 2.97.16: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 97, Shloka 16
भरतागमनशङ्कानिवारणम् / Dispelling Suspicion about Bharata’s Arrival
Chitrakuta Encampment
कथं नु पुत्राः पितरं हन्युः कस्यां चिदापदि ।
भ्राता वा भ्रातरं हन्यात्सौमित्रे प्राणमात्मनः ॥१६॥
kathaṃ nu putrāḥ pitaraṃ hanyuḥ kasyāṃ cid āpadi |
bhrātā vā bhrātaraṃ hanyāt saumitre prāṇam ātmanaḥ ||16||
اے سومِتری! کسی بھی مصیبت میں بیٹے اپنے باپ کو کیسے قتل کر سکتے ہیں؟ یا بھائی اپنے بھائی کو—جو اپنی جان کی طرح عزیز ہو—کیسے مار سکتا ہے؟
Whatever be the calamity, O Lakshmana, how will sons slay their father, or a brother kill his own brother who is as dear to him as his own life?
FAQs
Dharma upholds the sanctity of family bonds: patricide and fratricide are portrayed as almost unthinkable, even in crisis.
Rama argues against Lakshmana’s fear-driven assumptions, stressing that close kin do not turn murderous in righteous families.
Rama’s commitment to maryādā (moral boundaries) and faith in familial righteousness.
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