Shloka 2.42.11
द्विचत्वारिंशः सर्गः — दशरथस्य शोक-विलापः तथा कौशल्यागृह-प्रवेशः (Dasaratha’s Lament and Return to Kausalya’s Apartments)
हत्वेव ब्राह्मणं कामात् स्पृष्ट्वाग्निमिव पाणिना।अन्वतप्यत धर्मात्मा पुत्रं सञ्चिन्त्य तापसम् ।।।।
hatveva brāhmaṇaṃ kāmāt spṛṣṭvāgnim iva pāṇinā |
anvatapyata dharmātmā putraṃ sañcintya tāpasam || 2.42.11 ||
That righteous-souled king, recalling his son in ascetic garb, burned with remorse—as though he had willfully slain a brāhmaṇa, or as though he had touched fire with his hand.
That virtuous Dasaratha, recalling (the sight of) his son with the robes of an ascetic, burned with remorse as if he had intentionally slain a brahmin or placed his hand in fire.
The verse frames moral anguish through grave similes: causing harm to the righteous (likened to brahmahatyā) and self-burning consequences (touching fire). It reflects the severity with which dharmic tradition views wrongful suffering inflicted on the virtuous.
After Rāma’s departure, Daśaratha repeatedly recalls the image of his son as an ascetic and is consumed by remorse.
Daśaratha’s moral sensitivity and conscience—his inner recognition of the enormity of the outcome, even if compelled by prior promises.