Shloka 2.31.12
लक्ष्मणस्य वनानुगमन-प्रतिज्ञा तथा आयुध-संग्रहः (Lakshmana’s Vow to Follow Rama and the Retrieval of Divine Weapons)
अभिवर्षति कामैर्यः पर्जन्यः पृथिवीमिव।स कामपाशपर्यस्तो महातेजा महीपतिः।।।।
abhivarṣati kāmair yaḥ parjanyaḥ pṛthivīm iva |
sa kāmapāśa-paryasto mahātejā mahīpatiḥ || 2.31.12 ||
That mighty lord of the earth—who once, like Parjanya, showered the world with boons—has now been cast down, ensnared by the noose of desire.
Dasaratha, the mighty king like Parjanya (the rain-god), lord of the earth used to shower favours on earth. But now he is bound by the noose of passion.
The verse contrasts dharma-guided kingship (beneficence like rain) with the fall that comes from kāma (desire) when it binds judgment; ethical rule requires mastery over passions.
In discussing the crisis caused by Kaikeyī’s boons, Daśaratha is portrayed as once generous and powerful, now weakened by attachment and desire.
By contrast, the implied virtue is self-control (dama) as essential to righteous leadership; the king’s lapse becomes a moral warning.