Chapter 46 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 46

Valmiki Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda

Verse 46.22

पौरा ह्यात्मकृताद् दुःखाद् विप्रमोच्या नृपात्मजैः। न तु खल्वात्मना योज्या दुःखेन पुरवासिनः॥

paurā hyātmakṛtād duḥkhād vipramocyā nṛpātmajaiḥ| na tu khalvātmanā yojyā duḥkhena puravāsinaḥ||

English Meaning

A prince should deliver citizens from the calamity they bring upon themselves; but he should by no means drag them into those which he himself has brought on.

M.N. Dutt (1891–94, public domain)