Valmiki Ramayana 2.63.14: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 63, Shloka 14
दशरथस्य शोकानुचिन्तनं शब्धवेधि-दोषस्मरणं च
Daśaratha’s grief, karmic reflection, and the remembered ‘śabdavedhī’ misdeed
देव्यनूढा त्वमभवो युवराजो भवाम्यहम् ।
ततः प्रावृडनुप्राप्ता मदकामविवर्धिनी ॥१४॥
devy anūḍhā tvam abhavo yuvarājo bhavāmy aham |
tataḥ prāvṛḍ anuprāptā mada-kāma-vivardhinī ||14||
O Herrin, damals warst du noch nicht vermählt, und ich war der Thronfolger; dann kam die Regenzeit, die das Begehren mehrt und den Stolz berauscht.
O Kausalya, you were not married then. I was prince regent. The rainy season that inflames passion and pride had just set in.
FAQs
It points to the dharmic need for self-control: external conditions (season, youth, power) can intensify desire and pride, so ethical vigilance is required.
Daśaratha sets the time-frame for the earlier incident he is about to narrate—his youth as yuvarāja, before marrying Kausalyā, during the onset of the rainy season.
Self-restraint (dama): implicitly taught by showing how passion and pride can grow and lead to harmful acts if unchecked.
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