Ayodhya Kaanda
75 - Dialogue between Laksmana and the Nisada; Sumantraís dialogue with Sri Rama and Sita and his returning to Ayodhya
Chaupais
Description
"Have compassion, my darling, and take steps to see that Ayodhya is not left without a master." Sri Rama raised the minister and thus admonished him; "Dear father, you have investigated the truths of religion in their entirety. Sibi, Dadhici and King Hariscandra suffered untold hardships for the sake of virtue. The wise kings Rantideva* and Bali upheld virtue even through many trials. There is no virtue equal to truthfulness: so declare the agamas (Tantras), Vedas and Puranas. That virtue I have found by an easy road; by abandoning it I shall be reviled in all the three worlds. To a man who is highly esteemed, infamy causes agony as terrible as a million deaths. Father, what more shall I say to you? By urging something in reply I shall incur sin.