Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 13, Shloka 12
अयोध्याकाण्डे त्रयोदशः सर्गः | Kaikeyi Presses the Boons; Dasaratha’s Lament and Collapse
यदि दुःखमकृत्वाऽद्य मम संक्रमणं भवेत्।अदुःखार्हस्य रामस्य तत स्सुखमवाप्नुयाम्।।।।
yadi duḥkham akṛtvā’dya mama saṅkramaṇaṃ bhavet, aduḥkhārhasya rāmasya tataḥ sukham avāpnuyām.
যদি আজ আমার মৃত্যু এমনভাবে হয় যে দুঃখের অযোগ্য রামকে আমি কোনো শোক না দিই, তবে তাতেই আমি শান্তি ও সুখ লাভ করব।
Rama deserves happiness not suffering. How can I bear to see such a sagacious Rama undergoing distress?
FAQs
The king values ‘not harming the innocent’ over his own life; dharma is portrayed as the refusal to be the cause of unjust suffering.
Overwhelmed, Daśaratha expresses that dying now would be preferable to living while inflicting undeserved pain on Rāma.
Daśaratha’s conscience (moral self-judgment): he measures his life’s worth by whether he protects the dharmic son from undeserved suffering.