Shloka 2.12.55
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse (Ayodhya Kanda 12)
नष्टचित्तो यथोन्मत्तो विपरीतो यथाऽतुरः।हृततेजा यथा सर्पो बभूव जगतीपतिः।।।।
dīnayā tu girā rājā iti hovāca kaikayīm |
anartham imam arthābhaṃ kena tvam upadarśitā ||
bhūtopahatacitteva bruvantī māṃ na lajjase ||
Then the king spoke to Kaikeyī in a broken, humble voice: “By whom have you been led to propose this calamity, which seems to you like a benefit? Speaking to me like one whose mind is seized by a spirit—do you feel no shame?”
The lord of the earth (Dasaratha) became like a man with the mind deranged, like a sick man behaving to the contrary, like a serpent with its energy drained (through mantra).
Dharma demands discernment (viveka): actions that look advantageous (artha-ābha) can still be ruinous (anartha). Moral clarity must guide desire and political gain.
Daśaratha, devastated, challenges Kaikeyī’s demand and suspects she has been influenced or misled into harmful counsel.
Daśaratha appeals to lajjā (moral shame/modesty) as a guardian of dharma—an inner check that should prevent cruel or unrighteous speech.