Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 24, Shloka 16
कौशल्यारामसंवादः
Kausalya–Rama Dialogue on Exile-Dharma
मया चैव भवत्या च कर्तव्यं वचनं पितुः।राजा भर्ता गुरु श्श्रेष्ठस्सर्वेषामीश्वरः प्रभुः।।2.24.16।।
mayā caiva bhavatyā ca kartavyaṃ vacanaṃ pituḥ | rājā bhartā guruḥ śreṣṭhaḥ sarveṣām īśvaraḥ prabhuḥ ||
我与你都当奉行父王之言。他是国王，是护持之夫，是师长，是众人中最上者；亦是我们众人的主宰与君上。
You and I should obey father's words. He is the king, supporter, preceptor, the best (among men) and lord and master of all of us.
FAQs
Dharma is obedience to legitimate authority and honoring hierarchical duties: the father is simultaneously king, husband, and guru, so his command becomes a binding moral imperative.
Rāma reinforces to Kauśalyā that both must comply with Daśaratha’s word, grounding it in Daśaratha’s multiple roles.
Rāma’s commitment to satya (truthfulness to pledged duty) and his ability to articulate dharma as a social and familial order.