Shloka 32
क्रोधागारप्रवेशः — Entry into the Chamber of Wrath
Kaikeyī’s Protest
मा रोदीर्मा च कार्षीस्त्वं देवि संपरिशोषणम्।।।।अवध्यो वध्यतां को वा को वा वध्यो विमुच्यताम्।दरिद्रः को भवत्वाढ्यो द्रव्यवान्वाऽप्यकिञ्चनः।।।।
mā rodīr mā ca kārṣīs tvaṃ devi saṃpariśoṣaṇam | avadhyo vadhyatāṃ ko vā ko vā vadhyo vimucyatām | daridraḥ ko bhavatv āḍhyo dravyavān vā 'py akiñcanaḥ ||
Weine nicht, o Königin, und zehre deinen Leib nicht aus. Wer nicht getötet werden sollte—der werde getötet; und wer des Todes würdig ist—der werde freigelassen. Wer arm ist—der werde reich; und wer reich ist—der werde mittellos.
O queen! shed no tears. Drain not your health. Ask me, and I shall slay one who should not be slain or release one who should be slain. I shall make a poor man rich and a wealthy man poor. (Tell me who are such people).
FAQs
Dharma requires that punishment and reward follow justice, not impulse; Daśaratha’s hyperbolic promise illustrates how attachment can tempt a ruler to invert dharma.
To stop Kaikeyī’s grief, Daśaratha makes sweeping offers—punish or spare, enrich or impoverish—according to her demand.
Devotion to his queen and willingness to console—yet the virtue is strained by imprudent, ethically risky pledging.