Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 51
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
श्रुत्वा तु राजा कैकेय्या वृतं परमशोभनम्।रामस्य च वने वासमैश्वर्यं भरतस्य च।।।।नाभ्यभाषत कैकेयीं मुहूर्तं व्याकुलेन्द्रियः।
śrutvā tu rājā kaikeyyā vṛtaṃ paramaśobhanam |
rāmasya ca vane vāsaṃ aiśvaryaṃ bharatasya ca ||
nābhyabhāṣata kaikeyīṃ muhūrtaṃ vyākulendriyaḥ ||
Als der König Kaikeyīs höchst unheilvolle Forderung vernahm — Rāmas Aufenthalt im Wald und die Herrschaft für Bharata — gerieten seine Sinne in Aufruhr, und eine Weile konnte er nicht zu ihr sprechen.
Having heard of the highly unfair demands by Kaikeyi for Rama's exile to the forest and Bharata's prosperity (enthronement), the king was dumbstruck for a while with his senses agitated. He did not speak to Kaikeyi.
FAQs
The verse foregrounds the ethical crisis of rulership: dharma requires steadiness and truth, yet unjust demands can paralyze moral agency and speech, revealing the tension between promise-keeping and justice.
Kaikeyī explicitly demands Rama’s exile and Bharata’s enthronement; Daśaratha is stunned into silence.
Daśaratha’s gravity and moral sensitivity—his immediate speechlessness reflects the seriousness with which he grasps the unrighteousness and consequences of the demand.