Shloka 2.14.62
सत्यपाशः — Kaikeyi’s Demand and the Noose of the King’s Promise
सुमन्त्र राजा रजनीं रामहर्षसमुत्सुकः।।।।प्रजागरपरिश्रान्तो निद्राया वशमुपेयिवान्।
sumantra! rājā rajanīṃ rāmaharṣasamutsukaḥ | prajāgarapariśrānto nidrāyā vaśam upeyivān ||
O Sumantra, the king—eager and thrilled with joy at the prospect of Rama’s consecration—kept awake through the night; exhausted by wakefulness, he has now fallen under the power of sleep.
O Sumantra, excited with joy on account of the (proposed) installation of Rama, the king did not have a wink of sleep all night. He is weary and overpowered with sleep.
The verse indirectly frames royal duty and consequence: the king’s intense anticipation for a dharmic public rite (Rama’s consecration) leads to physical exhaustion, reminding that even rulers are bound by human limits while bearing responsibility for righteous governance.
Kaikeyī informs Sumantra that Daśaratha stayed awake all night in excitement about Rama’s coronation and is now asleep from fatigue.
Daśaratha’s earnest commitment to the planned coronation—his zeal for a righteous transition of rule—though it also highlights vulnerability and impending reversal in the narrative.