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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.101.14

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

2.101.14

dattam iṣṭaṃ hutaṃ caiva taptāni ca tapāṃsi ca
vedāḥ satyapratiṣṭhānās tasmāt satyaparo bhavet

Gifts bestowed, sacrifices offered, oblations poured, austerities undergone, and the Vedas themselves — all rest upon truth; therefore one should hold truth supreme.

Words: dattam — (a gift) given; iṣṭaṃ — (a sacrifice) offered; hutaṃ caiva — and (an oblation) poured; taptāni ca — and (things) practised (austerities); tapāṃsi ca — and the austerities; vedāḥ — the Vedas; satyapratiṣṭhānās — founded on truth; tasmāt — therefore; satyaparo bhavet — one should be devoted to truth

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.