Shloka 2.12.74
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse (Ayodhya Kanda 12)
न हि राममहं दृष्ट्वा प्रवसन्तं महावने।।।।चिरं जीवितुमाशंसे रुदन्तीं चापि मैथिलीम्।
sā nūnaṃ vidhavā rājyaṃ sa-putrā kārayiṣyasi,
na hi pravrājite rāme devi jīvitum utsahe.
Surely you will rule the kingdom as a widow, together with your son. For once Rāma is exiled, O queen, I truly have no will to live.
With Rama living in the wilderness and Sita crying, I do not hope to survive for long, indeed.
Dharma frames kingship as inseparable from moral legitimacy. A kingdom gained through the suffering of the righteous becomes shadowed by guilt and loss, not true prosperity.
Daśaratha tells Kaikeyī that Rāma’s exile will effectively make her a widow ruling with her son, because he foresees his own death from grief.
Daśaratha’s unwavering attachment to Rāma as the dharmic center of his life—his inability to endure Rāma’s banishment underscores how central righteousness is to his sense of purpose.