Shloka 2.12.62
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse (Ayodhya Kanda 12)
कथं द्रक्ष्यामि रामस्य वनं गच्छेति भाषिते।।।।मुखवर्णं विवर्णं तु तं यथैवेन्दुमुपप्लुतम्।
tāṃ hi me sukṛtāṃ buddhiṃ suhṛdbhiḥ saha niścitām |
kathaṃ drakṣyāmy apāvṛttāṃ parair iva hatāṃ camūm |
kiṃ māṃ vakṣyanti rājāno nānādigbhyaḥ samāgatāḥ |
bālo batāyam aikṣvākaś ciraṃ rājyam akārayat ||
For that decision, which I had carefully resolved upon after reflection and counsel with friends—how could I watch it be reversed, like an army driven into retreat after defeat by enemies? What will the kings assembled from many regions say of me? ‘Alas, this Ikṣvāku was a fool—how did he govern the kingdom for so long?’
While instructing Rama to go to the forest, how can I look at his face, pale like the eclipsed moon?
Rājadharma includes consistency, credibility, and accountability: a king’s decisions must be stable and righteous, not overturned by private intrigue, because the realm’s moral order depends on public trust.
Daśaratha laments that his publicly prepared decision to install Rāma—made with advisors and in view of visiting kings—would be disgracefully reversed.
Responsibility to institutions and reputation: Daśaratha recognizes that a ruler’s integrity is judged by steadiness and justice in governance.