Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 34: Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā Meet Daśaratha
Text 2.34.52
पिता हि दैवतं तात देवतानामपि स्मृतम्।
तस्माद्दैवतमित्येव करिष्यामि पितुर्वचः॥
pitā hi daivataṁ tāta devatānām api smṛtam
tasmād daivatam ity eva kariṣyāmi pitur vacaḥ
pitā hi = a father; daivatam = to be the deity; tāta = dear father; devatānām = of the deities; api = even; smṛtam = is considered; tasmāt = so; daivatam iti eva = considering the father the supreme deity; kariṣyāmi = I will carry out; pituḥ = My father’s; vacaḥ = instructions.
Dear father, a father is considered to be the deity of even the deities. So, considering the father the supreme deity, I will carry out My father’s instructions.1
1 It is this principle that Rāma is adhering to, not to Daśaratha as such.
A father is considered to be the deity of even the deities, what to speak of men? This is the implication here.