स भ्राता लक्ष्मणो नाम धर्मचारी दृढव्रतः।
अन्वगच्छद्धनुष्पाणिः प्रव्रजन्तं मया सह॥
sa bhrātā lakṣmaṇo nāma dharmacārī dṛḍha-vrataḥ
anvagacchad dhanuṣ-pāṇiḥ pravrajantaṁ mayā saha
saḥ = that; bhrātā = brother of His; lakṣmaṇaḥ = Lakṣmaṇa; nāma = named; dharmacārī = is a follower of dharma; dṛḍha-vrataḥ = and firm in His vows; anvagacchat = He followed; dhanuḥ-pāṇiḥ = with a bow in hand; pravrajantam = Śrī Rāma when He departed [to the forest]; mayā = me; saha = with.
That brother of His, named Lakṣmaṇa, is a follower of dharma and firm in His vows.1 With a bow in hand, He followed Śrī Rāma when Śrī Rāma departed [to the forest] with me.
1 This is further proof that Lord Lakṣmaṇa had always been dhārmika and firm in the vows that He had taken. Mother Sītā’s words of reproach alleging Him to have adhārmika attitudes were spoken just to impel Him to rush to Lord Rāma, while simultaneously teaching women by example that they should not be impulsive and irrational in their dealings with their respective husbands’ trusted relatives and friends. One of the duties of a woman who has already accepted the thirty duties common to all human beings is to be favorably disposed toward her husband’s relatives and friends. The thirty duties common to all human beings are noted in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.11.8-12. The duties of a woman are spelt out in texts 25 to 30 of the same chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.