Shloka 2.12.65
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse (Ayodhya Kanda 12)
यदा तु बहवो वृद्धा गुणवन्तो बहुश्रुताः।।।।परिप्रक्ष्यन्ति काकुत्स्थं वक्ष्यामि किमहं तदा।
cireṇa tu nṛpaḥ saṃjñāṃ pratilabhya suduḥkhitaḥ |
kaikeyīm abravīt kruddhaḥ pradahann iva cakṣuṣā ||
After a long while the king, deeply afflicted, regained consciousness; then, angered—his eyes as if burning—he spoke to Kaikeyī.
When several virtuous and learned elders ask me about Rama, what shall I tell them?
The verse frames the moral crisis: when dharma is threatened, even a king is shaken; it sets the stage for the ethical conflict between promise-keeping and justice.
Daśaratha, having fainted in grief, regains consciousness and turns in anger to address Kaikeyī.
Not a virtue but a human condition is highlighted—grief and anger—showing the psychological weight that precedes dharmic decision-making.