Shloka 2.12.10
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse (Ayodhya Kanda 12)
जीवलोको यदा सर्वो रामस्याह गुणस्तवम्।।।।अपराधं किमुद्दिश्य त्यक्ष्यामीष्टमहं सुतम्।
jīvaloko yadā sarvo rāmasyāha guṇastavam | aparādhaṃ kim uddiśya tyakṣyām iṣṭam ahaṃ sutam ||
When all living beings in the world sing hymns of Rama’s virtues, what ‘offence’ could I possibly cite to abandon my beloved son?
When all living beings of this world are extoling the virtues of Rama, for what crime should I abandon my beloved son?
Dharma as fairness: punishment or abandonment must have a just cause. Daśaratha appeals to the public moral consensus about Rama’s virtue to question any claim of wrongdoing.
Daśaratha protests Kaikeyī’s demand by arguing that Rama is universally praised and therefore cannot be cast out as if guilty.
Rama’s established excellence (guṇa) and blamelessness, acknowledged by society.