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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 1.20.7

Bāla Kāṇḍa, sarga 20: Vasiṣṭha’s intervention: The promise and Viśvāmitra’s powers. Viśvāmitra threatens to leave, Vasiṣṭha urges Daśaratha to honour his promise and assures him of the ṛṣi’s power to protect Rāma

In the sequence: Vasiṣṭha intervenes, reminding Daśaratha of his duty and warning that a broken promise would destroy the merit of his sacrifices and good works

1.20.7

triṣu lokeṣu vikhyāto dharmātmā iti rāghavaḥ
svadharmaṃ pratipadyasva nādharmaṃ voḍhum arhasi

Renowned in the three worlds as 'the righteous,' O Rāghava — take up your own dharma; you ought not to bear the burden of unrighteousness.

Words: triṣu — in the three; lokeṣu — in the worlds; vikhyāto — renowned; dharmātmā — the righteous-souled; iti — thus, as; rāghavaḥ — Rāghava; svadharmaṃ — your own dharma; pratipadyasva — take up, adopt; nādharmaṃ — not unrighteousness; voḍhum — to bear, carry; arhasi — you should

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.