Shloka 17
सत्यपाशः
Kaikeyi’s Demand and the Noose of the King’s Promise
त्वया सपुत्रया नैव कर्तव्या सलिलक्रिया।व्याहन्ताऽस्यशुभाचारे यदि रामाभिषेचनम्।।।।
tvayā saputrayā naiva kartavyā salilakriyā |
vyāhantā ’sy aśubhācāre yadi rāmābhiṣecanam ||
O Frau von üblem Wandel: Wenn du Rāmas Weihe und Krönung verhinderst, dann sollt weder du noch dein Sohn nach meinem Tod die Wasser-Opferriten für mich vollziehen.
O woman of inauspicious practices, since you are obstructing Rama's coronation, you and your son shall not perform my funeral rite of offering water to the dead.
FAQs
The verse foregrounds the moral weight of obstructing a rightful, dharmic succession; Daśaratha frames such obstruction as so grave that it severs even filial funeral obligations.
In the palace chamber, Daśaratha—devastated by Kaikeyī’s stance against Rāma’s coronation—utters a bitter warning about the consequences if she blocks the abhiṣeka.
Daśaratha’s commitment to dharma is implicit: even in anguish, he measures actions by their righteousness and social-religious consequences (rites for the dead).