Shloka 2.38.7
अयोध्याकाण्डे अष्टत्रिंशः सर्गः — Sita in Bark Garments; Public Outcry and Dasaratha’s Lament
अजीवनार्हेण मया नृशंसाकृता प्रतिज्ञा नियमेन तावत्।तवया हि बाल्यात् प्रतिपन्नमेतत्तन्मां दहेद्वेणुमिवात्मपुष्पम्।।।।
ajīvanārheṇa mayā nṛśaṃsākṛtā pratijñā niyamena tāvat | tvayā hi bālyāt pratipannam etat tan māṃ dahed veṇum ivātmapuṣpam ||
By this cruel pledge, bound by a vow, I have made myself unfit to live. Taken up by you in childish insistence, it now burns me—like a bamboo consumed by its own blossoms.
By giving this cruel promise through importunity, I have rendered myself unfit to live. This promise was made as a child's play and it (now) destroys me like a bamboo destroyed by its own flowers.
Dharma highlights the danger of vows made without wisdom: truth-binding promises must be guided by discernment (viveka), or they become instruments of harm.
Daśaratha laments that the boon-promise extracted by Kaikeyī now destroys him inwardly, even though he remains bound to keep it.
A painful commitment to satya (truth-keeping) is implied, alongside Daśaratha’s recognition of his own failure of judgment.