Shloka 2.12.108
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse (Ayodhya Kanda 12)
मया च रामेण च लक्ष्मणेन प्रशास्तु हीनो भरतस्त्वया सह।पुरं च राष्ट्रं च निहत्य बान्धवान् ममाहितानां च भवाभिहर्षिणी।।।।
vināśakāmām ahitām amitrām āvāsayaṃ mṛtyum ivātmanaḥ tvām |
ciraṃ batāṅkena dhṛtāsi sarpī mahāviṣā tena hato ’smi mohāt ||
You who desire my ruin—harmful, like an enemy—I sheltered you as one shelters death itself. Alas, for a long time I kept upon my lap a highly venomous she-serpent; and by that delusion I am destroyed.
With Rama and Lakshmana withdrawn from me, my kinsmen killed, let Bharata along with you rule the city and the kingdom causing delight to my enemies.
It warns against misplaced trust and the ethical catastrophe of betrayal within protected relationships (śaraṇāgata-saṃrakṣaṇa versus treachery).
Daśaratha condemns Kaikeyī’s demand as lethal betrayal, likening her to death and a venomous serpent he mistakenly nurtured.
Daśaratha’s earlier protective, shelter-giving nature is implied—contrasted with Kaikeyī’s perceived treachery.