Valmiki Ramayana 2.34.3: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 34, Shloka 3
रामदर्शनार्थं दारानयनम् · The Queens Summoned; Rama’s Leave
Taking and Dasaratha’s Collapse
उपरक्तमिवादित्यं भस्मच्छन्नमिवानलम् ।
तटाकमिव निस्तोयमपश्यज्जगतीपतिम् ॥३॥
uparaktam ivādityaṃ bhasmacchannam ivānalam |
taṭākam iva nistoyam apaśyaj jagatīpatim ||3||
Er erblickte den Herrn der Erde verdunkelt: wie die Sonne in der Finsternis der Verfinsterung, wie Feuer unter Asche erstickt, wie ein Teich ohne Wasser.
He saw the lord of the world (Dasaratha) dull like the Sun in eclipse, like the firecovered with ashes, like a tank with its water dried up.
FAQs
The verse frames the king’s inner collapse as a moral and emotional consequence of a dharmic crisis—when royal duty and truth-bound promises strain the heart, even a powerful ruler can appear 'eclipsed.'
Rāma sees Daśaratha in a weakened, lifeless state, foreshadowing the painful exchange about exile and truth-bound obligations.
Indirectly, Daśaratha’s truth-binding (satya) and sense of duty are implied as forces that, though righteous, weigh heavily upon him.
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