Shloka 2.21.51
अयोध्याकाण्डे एकविंशः सर्गः — Lakṣmaṇa’s militant counsel and Rāma’s dharma-based persuasion of Kausalyā
यथैव ते पुत्र पिता तथाऽहं गुरु स्स्वधर्मेण सुहृत्तया च।न त्वाऽनुजानामि न मां विहायसुदुःखितामर्हसि गन्तुमेवम्।।2.21.51।।
yathaiva te putra pitā tathā 'haṃ
guruḥ svadharmeṇa suhṛttayā ca |
na tvā anujānāmi na māṃ vihāya
suduḥkhitām arhasi gantum evam || 2.21.51 ||
As your father is to you, my son, so am I—your guide by my duty in dharma and by my love. I do not permit you; you ought not to go thus, leaving me in extreme sorrow.
By virtue of my own duty and affection towards you, O my son! I am as much your preceptor as your father is. I will not grant you permission. You should not go, leaving me deeply distressed.
Dharma is framed as layered obligations: a mother claims a rightful, guiding authority (guru) grounded in duty and affection, not merely emotion.
Kausalya, recovering from shock, directly tells Rama she cannot consent to his departure for the forest.
Maternal responsibility and protective love, expressed as a moral claim rather than only grief.