Shloka 2.21.3
अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः — Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma-based persuasion of Kausalyā
विपरीतश्च वृद्धश्च विषयैश्च प्रधर्षितः।नृपः किमिव न ब्रूयाच्चोद्यमानस्समन्मथः।।2.21.3।।
viparītaś ca vṛddhaś ca viṣayaiś ca pradharṣitaḥ | nṛpaḥ kim iva na brūyāt codyamānaḥ sa-manmathaḥ || 2.21.3 ||
With his judgment turned aside, aged, and assailed by sense-pleasures—ruled by desire and urged on—what might the king not say?
The king has a perverse nature. He is aged. He is overpowered by passions. He is under the spell of carnal pleasures and is incited (by Kaikeyi). Such a man can speak anything.
The verse warns that when a ruler is dominated by desire and external prompting, speech and decisions can deviate from dharma; self-mastery is essential for righteous governance.
Kausalyā characterizes the king’s compromised state—old age, passion, and Kaikeyī’s influence—to explain how such troubling commands could arise.
The implied virtue is restraint (dama) and clarity of judgment; its absence is shown as the cause of dharmic collapse in decision-making.