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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.101.22

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 rejects Jābāli's proposal as a justification for wrongdoing rather than a release from duty

2.101.22

bhūmiḥ kīrtir yaśo lakṣmīḥ puruṣaṃ prārthayanti hi
svargasthaṃ cānubadhnanti satyam eva bhajeta tat

Land, renown, glory, and fortune court a man, and attend him even when he is in heaven — (they wait upon) truth alone; therefore let one cleave to it.

Words: bhūmiḥ — land, earth; kīrtir — renown; yaśo — glory; lakṣmīḥ — fortune, prosperity; puruṣaṃ — a man; prārthayanti hi — indeed court, seek after; svargasthaṃ — him in heaven; cānubadhnanti — and attend, cleave to; satyam eva — truth alone; bhajeta tat — let one resort to that

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.