Shloka 2.12.79
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse (Ayodhya Kanda 12)
अहो दुःखमहो कृच्छ्रं यत्र वाचः क्षमे तव।दुःखमेवंविधं प्राप्तं पुराकृतमिवाशुभम्।।।।
aho duḥkham aho kṛcchraṁ yatra vācaḥ kṣame tava | duḥkham evaṁvidhaṁ prāptaṁ purākṛtam ivāśubham ||
Alas—what grief, what hardship—that I must endure your words! Such suffering has come upon me, as though it were the consequence of some former evil deed.
What suffering What a calamity that I am made to put up with your words. I am subject to this suffering may be as expiation for the sin formerly committed.
It reflects the dharmic idea that suffering can be interpreted through karma, encouraging moral introspection rather than mere blame.
Daśaratha laments the pain caused by Kaikeyī’s harsh insistence and frames it as karmic retribution.
Moral self-reflection is emphasized: he looks inward, considering past wrongdoing as a cause of present misery.