Valmiki Ramayana · Ayodhya Kanda · Sarga 1
नचानृतकथो विद्वान् वृद्धानां प्रतिपूजकः। अनुरक्तः प्रजाभिश्च प्रजाश्चाप्यनुरञ्जते
nacānṛtakatho vidvān vṛddhānāṃ pratipūjakaḥ| anuraktaḥ prajābhiśca prajāścāpyanurañjate
Rama never told lies. He was a learned man. He honoured elders by going forward to them. He loved his subjects as much as his subjects loved him.
— M.N. Dutt (1891)
Commentary
Rama never lies, honours elders, and is beloved by his people. The verse compresses the entire code of royal dharma into a single description. Truthfulness heads the list because it is the foundation of all other virtues in the Ramayana's moral universe.
अनृतवृद्धअनुरक्त