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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.101.24

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

2.101.24

kathaṃ hy ahaṃ pratijñāya vanavāsam imaṃ guroḥ
bharatasya kariṣyāmi vaco hitvā guror vacaḥ

How, having promised my father this dwelling in the forest, could I do Bharata's bidding and cast aside my father's word?

Words: kathaṃ hy ahaṃ — how indeed shall I; pratijñāya — having promised; vanavāsam imaṃ — this forest-dwelling; guroḥ — to my father, elder; bharatasya — of Bharata; kariṣyāmi vaco — shall I do the word; hitvā — forsaking; guror vacaḥ — my father's word

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.