Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 21: Rāma Consoles Kausalyā and Lakṣmaṇa
Text 2.21.43
संश्रुत्य च पितुर्वाक्यं मातुर्वा ब्राह्मणस्य वा॥
न कर्तव्यं वृथा वीर धर्ममाश्रित्य तिष्ठता॥
saṁśrutya ca pitur vākyaṁ mātur vā brāhmaṇasya vā
na kartavyaṁ vṛthā vīra dharmam āśritya tiṣṭhatā
saṁśrutya ca = after promising to carry out; pituḥ = of his father; vākyam = the instructions; mātuḥ vā = mother; brāhmaṇasya = a brāhmaṇa; vā = or; na = not; kartavyam = should; vṛthā = turn back on his words; vīra = O hero; dharmam = of dharma; āśritya tiṣṭhatā = a person who has taken shelter.
O hero, a person who has taken shelter of dharma should not uselessly turn back on his words after promising to carry out the instructions of his father, mother or a brāhmaṇa.
Both being truthful and carrying out one’s father’s instructions lead to dharma. Having stated this, Śrī Rāma now states that one should be truthful. “A person who has taken shelter of dharma” means “a person who desires to attain dharma (piety).”