Valmiki Ramayana 2.12.38 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 38
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
इति दुःखाभिसन्तप्तं विलपन्तमचेतनम्।घूर्णमानं महाराजं शोकेन समभिप्लुतम्।।2.12.37।।पारं शोकार्णवस्याशु प्रार्थयन्तं पुनः पुनः। प्रत्युवाचाथ कैकेयी रौद्रा रौद्रतरं वचः।।2.12.38।।
iti duḥkhābhisantaptaṃ vilapantam acetanaṃ |
ghūrṇamānaṃ mahārājaṃ śokena samabhiplutam ||
pāraṃ śokārṇavasyāśu prārthayantaṃ punaḥ punaḥ |
pratyuvācātha kaikeyī raudrā raudrataraṃ vacaḥ ||
So klagte der große König, vom Kummer versengt, wie ohne Bewusstsein, taumelnd und von Trauer überflutet, immer wieder darum bittend, rasch an das ferne Ufer dieses Ozeans des Schmerzes getragen zu werden. Da erwiderte Kaikeyī, von Natur aus wild, mit Worten, die noch wilder waren.
Then the fierce Kaikeyi used fiercer words in reply to the king who was tormented with grief and filled with tears, senses switched off, head reeling, overwhelmed with pain, beseeching again and again to ferry him across the ocean of sorrow as quickly as possible:
FAQs
The passage contrasts compassion with cruelty: when a person is overwhelmed by suffering, dharma calls for gentleness, yet Kaikeyī answers with increased harshness.
After Daśaratha’s repeated pleas and visible collapse into grief, the narration sets up Kaikeyī’s response as stern and unyielding.
Not a virtue but a moral contrast: Kaikeyī’s raudratā (fierceness) is highlighted against Daśaratha’s helpless sorrow.
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