Valmiki Ramayana 2.63.12: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 63, Shloka 12
दशरथस्य शोकानुचिन्तनं शब्धवेधि-दोषस्मरणं च
Daśaratha’s grief, karmic reflection, and the remembered ‘śabdavedhī’ misdeed
तदिदं मेऽनुसंम्प्राप्तं देवि दुःखं स्वयं कृतम् ।
सम्मोहादिह बालेन यथा स्याद्भक्षितं विषम् ॥१२॥
tad idaṃ me ’nusaṃprāptaṃ devi duḥkhaṃ svayaṃ kṛtam |
sammohād iha bālena yathā syād bhakṣitaṃ viṣam ||12||
O Herrin, dieses Leid ist über mich gekommen als Frucht meiner eigenen Tat—wie Gift, das ein Kind in Verblendung in dieser Welt verzehrt.
Just as a boy consumes poison out of delusion, O Devi, this sorrow has befallen me as a result of my own action.
FAQs
It teaches karma and responsibility: suffering can be the direct consequence of one’s own actions, and dharma begins with owning that causality rather than denying it.
Daśaratha interprets his present agony as self-caused, comparing it to a child’s self-harm through deluded choice.
Accountability (ātma-doṣa-darśana): the willingness to recognize one’s own error as the source of misfortune.
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