Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 63
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
तां हि मे सुकृतां बुद्धिं सुहृद्भिस्सह निश्चिताम्।।।।कथं द्रक्ष्याम्यपावृत्तां परैरिव हतां चमूम्।किं मां वक्ष्यन्ति राजानो नानादिग्भ्य स्समागताः।।।।बालो बताऽयमैक्ष्वाकश्चिरं राज्यमकारयत्।
tāṃ hi me sukṛtāṃ buddhiṃ suhṛdbhiḥ saha niścitām |
kathaṃ drakṣyāmy apāvṛttāṃ parair iva hatāṃ camūm |
kiṃ māṃ vakṣyanti rājāno nānādigbhyaḥ samāgatāḥ |
bālo batāyam aikṣvākaś ciraṃ rājyam akārayat ||
For I had resolved—after careful thought and in counsel with friends—upon that decision. How could I witness it being turned back, like an army forced into retreat after defeat by enemies? What will the kings, assembled from many regions, say of me? ‘Alas, this Ikṣvāku was a fool—how did he govern the kingdom for so long?’
While instructing Rama to go to the forest, how can I look at his face, pale like the eclipsed moon?
FAQs
Rājadharma includes consistency, credibility, and accountability: a king’s decisions must be stable and righteous, not overturned by private intrigue, because the realm’s moral order depends on public trust.
Daśaratha laments that his publicly prepared decision to install Rāma—made with advisors and in view of visiting kings—would be disgracefully reversed.
Responsibility to institutions and reputation: Daśaratha recognizes that a ruler’s integrity is judged by steadiness and justice in governance.