Shloka 2.24.11
कौशल्यारामसंवादः — Kausalya–Rama Dialogue on Exile-Dharma
कैकेय्या वञ्चितो राजा मयि चारण्यमाश्रिते।भवत्या च परित्यक्तो न नूनं वर्तयिष्यति।।2.24.11।।
kaikeyyā vañcito rājā mayi cāraṇyam āśrite | bhavatyā ca parityakto na nūnaṃ vartayiṣyati ||
The king has been deceived by Kaikeyī. When I have taken refuge in the forest, if you abandon him as well, he surely will not survive.
The king was deceived by Kaikeyi. If you also desert him after I have gone to the forest, surely he will not live.
Dharma here is non-abandonment: even amid injustice, one must protect the vulnerable—especially one’s spouse/elder—through loyal care and presence.
Rāma anticipates his departure to the forest and warns Kauśalyā that Daśaratha, already shaken by Kaikeyī’s deception, may not endure further desertion.
Rāma’s compassion and responsibility: he thinks first of his father’s survival and his mother’s duty, not of his own suffering.