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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.101.12
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 101: Rāma rejects Jābāli’s advice. A ruler’s actions guide his subjects, truth sustains trust and no worldly gain justifies breaking his father’s promise
In the sequence: he presents truth as the foundation of promises, religious practice, and social confidence
2.101.12
udvijante yathā sarpān narād anṛtavādinaḥ
dharmaḥ satyaṃ paro loke mūlaṃ svargasya cocyate
People shrink from a man who speaks falsehood as from serpents; truth is the highest dharma in the world, and is called the root of heaven.
Words: udvijante — recoil, shrink in dread; yathā sarpān — as from serpents; narād — from a man; anṛtavādinaḥ — who speaks falsehood; dharmaḥ satyaṃ — truth is the dharma; paro loke — highest in the world; mūlaṃ svargasya — the root of heaven; cocyate — and is called
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.