Vishwamitra said that the King should send his son Rama for the protection of his Yajna (Sacrifice). Hearing the words of the Sage, Dashratha pleaded: ‘Oh Sage! My son Rama is only fourteen years old. He is tender and has not known any hardship. So, it is not possible for me to send my son along with you for the protection of the yajna.’ Vishwamitra became furious and said: ‘It is extreme folly to go back on your word, for no one in the noble lineage of Ikshvaku has, until now, ever broken his word. The scions of the Ikshvaku lineage have always been truthful, pure, and sacred. You are tainting their glory by breaking the promise given to me. No merit accrues to those who break their promise, even if they perform many a noble deed and Yaga. Death is preferable to the sin of uttering falsehood. It is better that one dies rather than break one’s promise.’ (SSB 1996, p. 22)