Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 21, Shloka 26
अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः
Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma-based persuasion of Kausalyā
यदि त्वं यास्यसि वनं त्यक्त्वा मां शोकलालसाम्।अहं प्रायमिहासिष्ये न हि शक्ष्यामि जीवितुम्।।2.21.26।।
yadi tvaṃ yāsyasi vanaṃ tyaktvā māṃ śokalālasām | ahaṃ prāyam ihāsiṣye na hi śakṣyāmi jīvitum || 2.21.26 ||
Wenn du in den Wald gehst und mich, von Kummer überwältigt, zurücklässt, werde ich hier das Fasten bis zum Tod auf mich nehmen; denn wahrlich werde ich nicht leben können.
If you depart for the forest leaving me grief-stricken I cannot live. Here I shall seek death by fasting.
FAQs
Kausalyā frames her life as inseparable from her dharmic relationship to Rāma; the threat of prāya underscores the moral weight she places on not being abandoned.
In desperation, Kausalyā warns that Rāma’s departure will lead her to fast unto death.
Intensity of maternal devotion (vātsalya) and the extremity of grief when dharmic bonds appear broken.