Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 118: Conversation Between Sītā and Anasūyā
Text 2.118.6
सकृद्दृष्टास्वपि स्त्रीषु नृपेण नृपवत्सलः।
मातृवद्वर्तते वीरो मानमुत्सृज्य धर्मवित्॥
sakṛd dṛṣṭāsv api strīṣu nṛpeṇa nṛpa-vatsalaḥ
mātṛvad vartate vīro mānam utsṛjya dharmavit
sakṛt = only once; dṛṣṭāsu = had seen; api = even; strīṣu = those ladies; nṛpeṇa = whom the king; nṛpa-vatsalaḥ = affectionate towards the king; mātṛvat = as His mothers; vartate = and considers; vīraḥ = heroic Rāma; mānam = His honor; utsṛjya = sets aside; dharmavit = as a knower of dharma.
Affectionate towards the king, as a knower of dharma, heroic Rāma sets aside His honor and considers even those ladies whom the king had seen only once as His mothers.