Shloka 2.42.9
द्विचत्वारिंशः सर्गः — दशरथस्य शोक-विलापः तथा कौशल्यागृह-प्रवेशः (Dasaratha’s Lament and Return to Kausalya’s Apartments)
भरतश्चेत्प्रतीतः स्याद्राज्यं प्राप्येदमव्ययम्।यन्मे स दद्यात्पित्रर्थं मामां तद्दत्तमागमत्।।।।
bharataś cet pratītaḥ syād rājyaṃ prāpye dam avyayam | yan me sa dadyāt pitrarthaṃ māṃ tad dattaṃ māgamat ||
If Bharata should be satisfied after obtaining this imperishable kingdom, then may the funeral offerings he would make for me not reach me at all.
If Bharata feels pleased to secure this imperishable kingdom, then may his obsequial offerings at my funeral not reach me!
It underscores the dhārmic importance of filial rites (śrāddha/obsequies) while showing how anger and despair can invert dharma into a wish for spiritual deprivation—serving as a caution about adharma in speech born from grief.
In the aftermath of Rāma’s exile, Daśaratha speaks in bitterness: if Bharata enjoys the kingship, Daśaratha declares he does not want Bharata’s funeral offerings to benefit him.
The verse emphasizes the tragic collapse of equanimity under sorrow; it implicitly calls attention to the virtue of compassion and measured speech that is strained in moments of calamity.