Shloka 2.12.90
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse (Ayodhya Kanda 12)
कौशल्या मां च रामं च पुत्रौ च यदि हास्यति।।।।दुःखान्यसहती देवी मामेवानुमरिष्यति।
kauśalyā māṃ ca rāmaṃ ca putrau ca yadi hāsyati | duḥkhāny asahatī devī mām evānumariṣyati ||
If Queen Kauśalyā loses me—and Rāma and the sons as well—then, unable to bear such grief, the queen will follow me into death.
If queen Kausalya loses me, Rama, Lakshmana and Satrughna will follow me into death, unable to bear the grief.
It highlights the cascading harm of unrighteous decisions: adharma in the royal household inflicts suffering on innocents, violating the king’s protective duty.
Daśaratha predicts that Kauśalyā will not survive the compounded loss caused by Rāma’s exile and the family’s collapse.
Kauśalyā’s deep fidelity and emotional devotion, presented as inseparable from her dharmic bond to husband and son.