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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.101.4

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

2.101.4

kulīnam akulīnaṃ vā vīraṃ puruṣamāninam
cāritram eva vyākhyāti śuciṃ vā yadi vāśucim

Whether a man be high-born or low-born, a hero or merely self-important, pure or impure — it is his conduct alone that declares him.

Words: kulīnam — well-born; akulīnaṃ vā — or low-born; vīraṃ — brave, a hero; puruṣamāninam — one who fancies himself a (great) man; cāritram eva — conduct alone; vyākhyāti — declares, reveals; śuciṃ vā — whether pure; yadi vāśucim — or impure

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.