Shloka 2.39.1
एकोनचत्वारिंशः सर्गः — Dasaratha’s Lament, Sumantra’s Commission, and Sita’s Vow of Marital Dharma
रामस्य तु वचः शृत्वा मुनिवेशधरं च तम्।समीक्ष्य सह भार्याभी राजा विगतचेतनः।।2.39.1।।नैनं दुःखेन सन्तप्तः प्रत्यवैक्षत राघवम्।न चैनमभिसम्प्रेक्ष्य प्रत्यभाषत दुर्मनाः।।2.39.2।।
rāmasya tu vacaḥ śrutvā muniveśadharaṃ ca tam | samīkṣya saha bhāryābhi rājā vigatacetanaḥ || 2.39.1 ||
na enaṃ duḥkhena santaptaḥ pratyavaikṣata rāghavam | na cainam abhisamprekṣya pratyabhāṣata durmanāḥ || 2.39.2 ||
Hearing Rāma’s words and seeing him clad in an ascetic’s garb, the king, together with his wives, lost consciousness. Tormented by grief, the dejected Daśaratha could not look upon Rāghava, and even after looking, could not reply.
After hearing Rama and beholding him in the robes of an ascetic, Dasaratha and his wives fell unconscious. With his body and mind afflicted with grief, Dasaratha could not look Rama in the face nor could he make a reply.
The verse underscores the human cost of dharma-bound decisions: even righteous adherence to truth can produce unbearable grief, testing the moral and emotional endurance of leaders and families.
Rāma has assumed ascetic dress for exile; Daśaratha, overwhelmed, collapses with his queens and becomes unable to meet Rāma’s gaze or speak.
Rāma’s renunciant resolve is implied by the ascetic garb, while Daśaratha’s paternal attachment and vulnerability are foregrounded through his collapse.