Valmiki Ramayana 2.12.112: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 112
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
क्षुरोपमां नित्यमसत्प्रियंवदां प्रदुष्टभावां स्वकुलोपघातिनीम्।न जीवितुं त्वां विषहेऽमनोरमां दिधक्षमाणां हृदयं सबन्धनम्।।2.12,112।।
kṣuropamāṃ nityam asatpriyaṃvadāṃ praduṣṭabhāvāṃ svakulopaghātinīm |
na jīvituṃ tvāṃ viṣahe ’manoramāṃ didhakṣamāṇāṃ hṛdayaṃ sabandhanam ||
Wie ein Rasiermesser bist du: stets sprichst du süße Unwahrheit, von verdorbenem Sinn, Verderberin deines eigenen Geschlechts; unerquicklich bist du anzusehen und trachtest danach, das Herz mitsamt all seinen Fesseln zu verbrennen. Ich kann nicht ertragen, dass du lebst.
You are like a knife. You always speak palatable lies. You are malevolent. You are a destroyer of your own race. You displease the mind. You are intent on burning down all the links of my heart. I cannot bear to see you alive in this world.
FAQs
It condemns ‘pleasant untruth’ (asat-priya-vacana) as ethically corrosive—speech divorced from satya can sever bonds and destroy a family’s moral order.
Daśaratha, in extreme anguish, denounces Kaikeyī as deceitful and destructive, blaming her for tearing apart the family’s bonds.
Satya (truthfulness) is emphasized by contrast: Kaikeyī is criticized for the opposite—sweet speech that is untrue and harmful in intent.
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