Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 111
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
प्रताम्य वा प्रज्वल वा प्रणश्य वा सहस्रशो वा स्फुटिता महीं व्रज।न ते करिष्यामि वच स्सुदारुणं ममाहितं केकयराजपांसनि।।।।
pratāmya vā prajvala vā praṇaśya vā sahasraśo vā sphuṭitā mahīṃ vraja |
na te kariṣyāmi vacaḥ sudāruṇaṃ mamāhitaṃ kekayarājapāṃsani ||
Klage, wenn du willst, brenne, wenn du willst, geh zugrunde, wenn du willst—selbst wenn du, in tausend Stücke zersplittert, zur Erde fällst: ich werde dein schreckliches, mir schädliches Verlangen nicht erfüllen, o Schande des Hauses Kekaya.
O obloquy on the house of Kekaya, you may grieve or burn yourself in the fire, or get destroyed. Even if you fall down on earth broken into a thousand pieces I will not act on your terrible, harmful words.
FAQs
It asserts moral resistance to harmful commands: dharma includes refusing actions perceived as destructive, even under emotional coercion.
Daśaratha vehemently rejects Kaikeyī’s insistence, declaring he will not comply even if she threatens self-harm or destruction.
Moral resolve (dharma-niṣṭhā) is foregrounded—though expressed in anger, the stance is framed as refusal of an ‘ahita’ (harmful) act.