Shloka 2
कौशल्याविलापः
Kausalya’s Lament and the Vision of Rama’s Return
राघवे नरशार्दूले विषमुप्त्वाहिजिह्मगा।विचरिष्यति कैकेयी निर्मुक्तेव हि पन्नगी।।।।
rāghave naraśārdūle viṣam uptvā ahijihmagā |
vicariṣyati kaikeyī nirmukteva hi pannagī ||
Krumm wie eine Schlange hat Kaikeyī ihr Gift über Rāghava, den Tiger unter den Menschen, gegossen; und nun wird sie, wie eine Schlangin, die ihre Haut abgestreift hat, zügellos umherstreifen.
O valiant one, in my previous birth I must have undoubtedly hacked off the udders of cows when the calves were thirsting for milk from their mothers.
FAQs
The verse warns that adharma—deceit and malice within the household—spreads like poison. Dharma in a royal family requires restraint, truthfulness, and protection of the innocent, not the unleashing of destructive intent.
After Kaikeyi’s boons have compelled Dasharatha to exile Rama, Kausalya laments to Dasharatha, portraying Kaikeyi as a serpent that has struck and now moves freely.
By contrast to Kaikeyi’s ‘crookedness,’ Rama’s implied virtue is steadiness and righteousness—he is the ‘tiger among men’ who receives undeserved harm yet remains aligned with dharma.