Shloka 2.57.24
सप्तपञ्चाशः सर्गः — Sumantra’s Return to Ayodhya and the Palace’s Lament
स प्रविश्याष्टमीं कक्ष्यां राजानं दीनमातुरम्।पुत्रशोकपरिम्लानमपश्यत्पाण्डुरे गृहे।।।।
sa praviśyāṣṭamīṃ kakṣyāṃ rājānaṃ dīnam āturam |
putraśoka-parimlānam apaśyat pāṇḍure gṛhe ||
Entering the eighth courtyard, he saw the king in a pale chamber—wretched and anguished, withered by sorrow for his son.
On entering the eighth courtyard, he saw in a pale white chamber king Dasaratha desolate, anguished and withered with the sorrow of separation from his son.
It presents the moral cost of royal decisions: dharma in governance must confront the suffering it generates, and satya requires acknowledging the king’s broken state rather than masking it.
Sumantra finally reaches the innermost area and finds Daśaratha physically and emotionally devastated by separation from Rāma.
Human vulnerability within kingship: Daśaratha’s paternal love is foregrounded, showing that rulers too are bound by emotional bonds and consequences.