“A father is the God of each”

Ráma’s statement “A father is the God of each” turns filial obedience into a religious obligation. Spoken as he accepts his father’s decree of exile, it explains why he will not set his own claim or comfort above that command, even as his father grieves over the fate imposed on him.

Meaning and Formulation

The expression appears as part of a compact argument: “A father is the God of each,” followed by the claim that this is taught by scripture, and then Ráma’s own declaration, “For as a God I honour thee.” The movement is from general principle to personal address. The father is not merely owed respect; Ráma presents reverence as the reason he will keep the decree.

This framing gives the saying force within a conflict of obligations. The command brings suffering, and the narrative has already shown the father’s anguish at Ráma’s lot. Yet the expression does not treat that pain as grounds for disobedience. Ráma’s response gives priority to honoring his father and carrying out what has been decreed.

The Saying in Ráma’s Decision

Ráma connects the principle directly to action: “And I will keep my sire’s decree.” His appeal to his father’s divine standing is therefore not an isolated compliment but the stated ground for accepting the fourteen-year exile. In this moment, devotion is demonstrated through compliance with a costly command, rather than through a promise of affection alone.

The line also makes Ráma’s choice legible as a matter of duty. He presents obedience as something owed to a father he honors as divine, not as a bargain dependent on whether the command benefits him. The episode thus binds reverence, truthfulness, and keeping one’s word together in a single decision.

Family Duty and the Wider Narrative

The expression belongs to a story concerned with dynastic continuity as well as private grief. A prophecy promises the monarch four sons who will uphold his royal line; elsewhere, the narrative emphasizes Ráma’s distress at his father’s sorrow, while Ráma insists that he will keep the decree. These moments place the saying within a family structure in which a father’s authority and the future of the royal house carry substantial weight.

The principle is not presented without competing claims. Later, Bharat earnestly asks Ráma to take the rule that is justly his, and a sage addresses him in support of that appeal. The canto is titled “The Praises of Truth,” and Ráma is described there as truthful. Read alongside his earlier declaration, the episode shows the continuing tension between returning to rule and remaining faithful to the command that sent him away. The expression’s significance lies in how decisively it grounds his choice: for Ráma, honoring his father requires keeping the decree even when others urge a different course.