Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 21, Shloka 12
अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः
Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma-based persuasion of Kausalyā
प्रोत्साहितोऽयं कैकेय्या स दुष्टो यदि नः पिता।अमित्रभूतो निस्सङ्गं वध्यतां बध्यतामपि।।2.21.12।।
protsāhito 'yaṃ kaikeyyā sa duṣṭo yadi naḥ pitā |
amitrabhūto nissaṅgaṃ vadhyatāṃ badhyatām api ||2.21.12||
If our father—made vicious by being incited by Kaikeyī—has truly become our enemy, then, without regard for the bond of kinship, let him be restrained, even imprisoned, or if need be, slain.
Even a preceptor who follows the unrighteous path and is filled with haughtiness and does not know how to discriminate between good and bad, deserves to be disciplined (punished).
FAQs
It raises the tension between personal bonds and justice: Lakṣmaṇa asserts that if a ruler turns hostile and unjust, corrective action may be required—though the epic context later critiques acting from rage rather than dharma.
Lakṣmaṇa, enraged by the exile and coronation reversal, speaks recklessly about punishing even his father if Daśaratha has become an enemy under Kaikeyī’s influence.
Uncompromising loyalty to Rāma and a militant sense of justice—yet also Lakṣmaṇa’s impulsiveness, showing how anger can distort dharmic judgment.