Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 100
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
महार्हवस्त्रसंवीतो भूत्वा चिरसुखोषितः।।।।काषायपरिधानस्तु कथं भूमौनिवत्स्यति।
mahārha-vastra-saṃvīto bhūtvā cira-sukhoṣitaḥ | kāṣāya-paridhānas tu kathaṃ bhūmau nivatsyati ||
Wie soll er—lange an Wohlleben gewöhnt und in kostbare Gewänder gehüllt—auf bloßer Erde leben und ruhen, nur in ockerfarbenen Büßerroben?
How will he who was habituated to wearing expensive apparels and to (royal) comforts over a long period of time live (sleep) on the ground, putting on saffronrobes?
FAQs
Dharma includes compassion and proportionality: Daśaratha highlights the human cost of exile, questioning the righteousness of imposing severe hardship on one who has done no wrong.
Daśaratha imagines Rama’s sudden shift from royal comfort to ascetic hardship in the forest.
Daśaratha’s paternal tenderness; implicitly, Rama’s capacity for renunciation is contrasted with his prior princely life.