Shloka 2.12.61
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse (Ayodhya Kanda 12)
न कथञ्चिदृते रामाद्भरतो राज्यमावसेत्।।।।रामादपि हि तं मन्ये धर्मतो बलवत्तरम्।
kathaṃ drakṣyāmi rāmasya vanaṃ gaccheti bhāṣite |
mukhavarṇaṃ vivarṇaṃ tu taṃ yathaivendum upaplutam ||
When I tell Rāma, ‘Go to the forest,’ how could I bear to look upon his face—turned pale, like the moon under eclipse?
Depriving Rama, Bharata in no way will occupy the kingdom because in the matter of righteousness I think he is superior even to Rama.
Dharma is not merely legal obligation but also moral responsibility: Daśaratha recognizes the cruelty inherent in commanding exile to a blameless son.
Daśaratha imagines the moment of ordering Rāma into exile and recoils at the grief it would cause.
Parental compassion and conscience—his awareness of the human cost of an unrighteous command.