← 2.101.30 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 101: Rāma rejects Jābāli’s advice

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.101.31

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 renews his intention to live with restraint in the forest and fulfill the vow through his own actions.

2.101.31

dharme ratāḥ satpuruṣaiḥ sametās tejasvino dānaguṇapradhānāḥ
ahiṃsakā vītamalāś ca loke bhavanti pūjyā munayaḥ pradhānāḥ

Devoted to dharma, keeping company with the good, full of splendour, preeminent in the virtue of giving, harmless and free of all impurity — such foremost sages become worthy of worship in the world.

Words: dharme ratāḥ — devoted to dharma; satpuruṣaiḥ sametās — keeping company with the good; tejasvino — full of splendour; dānaguṇapradhānāḥ — preeminent in the virtue of giving; ahiṃsakā — harmless, non-violent; vītamalāś ca — and free of impurity; loke — in the world; bhavanti pūjyā — become worthy of worship; munayaḥ pradhānāḥ — the foremost sages

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.