← 2.101.2 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 101: Rāma rejects Jābāli’s advice · 2.101.4 →

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.101.3

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 says a person's actions, rather than appearances or birth alone, reveal their character

2.101.3

nirmaryādas tu puruṣaḥ pāpācārasamanvitaḥ
mānaṃ na labhate satsu bhinnacāritradarśanaḥ

A man without restraint, given over to evil conduct, seen to have broken the bounds of good conduct, wins no honour among the good.

Words: nirmaryādas tu — one without restraint; puruṣaḥ — a man; pāpācārasamanvitaḥ — given to evil conduct; mānaṃ — honour, respect; na labhate — gains not; satsu — among the good; bhinnacāritradarśanaḥ — seen to have broken (good) conduct

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.