Shloka 2.43.4
कौशल्याविलापः — Kausalya’s Lament and the Vision of Rama’s Return
अथ स्म नगरे रामश्चरन् भैक्षं गृहे वसेत्।कामकारो वरं दातुमपि दासं ममात्मजम्।।।।
na hi tāvad guṇair juṣṭaṃ sarvaśāstraviśāradaṃ |
ekaputrā vinā putram ahaṃ jīvitum utsahe ||
I—who have only this one son—cannot bear to live without him: a son endowed with such virtues and skilled in all the śāstras.
It would have been better had I offered her my son as a slave. He would have lived on in the house by doing his duties and begging his food in the city.
Dharma esteems inner virtue and disciplined learning; the pain arises because a truly dharmic person (Rama) is made to suffer unjustly, showing how adharma wounds both society and family.
Kausalya tells Dasharatha she cannot survive Rama’s absence, stressing his exceptional virtues and learning.
Rama’s guṇa (character excellence) and śāstra-jñāna (trained wisdom), qualities expected of an ideal ruler.