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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.18.33

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 18: Resistance or obedience. Lakṣmaṇa offers force and Kausalyā asks Rāma to stay, Rāma cites ancestral precedents and upholds his father’s word

In the sequence: he tells Lakṣmaṇa that affection and military force cannot cancel a binding promise

2.18.33

dharmo hi paramo loke dharme satyaṃ pratiṣṭhitam
dharmasaṃśritam etac ca pitur vacanam uttamam

For dharma is supreme in the world, and in dharma is truth established; and this excellent word of my father rests upon dharma.

Words: dharmo — dharma; hi — for; paramo — supreme; loke — in the world; dharme — in dharma; satyaṃ — truth; pratiṣṭhitam — established; dharmasaṃśritam — resting upon dharma; etac — this; ca — and; pitur — of the father; vacanam — word; uttamam — excellent, highest

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.