Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 80
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
चिरं खलु मया पापे त्वं पापेनाभिरक्षिता।अज्ञानादुपसम्पन्ना रज्जुरुद्बन्धिनी यथा।।।।
ciraṁ khalu mayā pāpe tvaṁ pāpenābhirakṣitā | ajñānād upasampannā rajjur udbandhinī yathā ||
O sündige Frau, lange habe ich dich beschützt — in Sünde und aus Unwissenheit — wie einer, der ein Seil aufbewahrt, das sich zuletzt als Schlinge zum Erhängen erweist.
O wretch I protected you in my folly for a long time through ignorance, like a rope preserved which turned out to be a noose to hang me with.
FAQs
It warns that protection or patronage without discernment can empower adharma; dharma requires wise judgment, not blind attachment.
Daśaratha bitterly regrets having long favored Kaikeyī, now seeing that trust as self-destructive.
The verse emphasizes the need for viveka (discernment) as a supporting virtue for dharmic governance and household life.