Shloka 2.61.1
कौसल्याविलापः — Kausalya’s Lament and Ethical Analogies on Kingship
वनं गते धर्मपरे रामे रमयतां वरे।कौसल्या रुदती स्वार्ता भर्तारमिदमब्रवीत्।।2.61.1।।
vanaṃ gate dharmapare rāme ramayatāṃ vare |
kausalyā rudatī svārtā bhartāram idam abravīt ||
When Rāma—devoted to dharma and foremost among those who gladden others—had gone to the forest, Kauśalyā, weeping in bitter anguish, spoke these words to her husband.
When Rama, the greatest among those who please the people, he who was conscious of his duty left for the forest. Kausalya, sobbing in bitter anguish, said to her husband:
Dharma is presented as Rāma’s defining orientation—he accepts exile in obedience to righteous order—while the verse also acknowledges the human cost borne by family.
Rāma has departed for the forest; Kauśalyā, overwhelmed, begins addressing Daśaratha about the calamity.
Rāma’s dharma-centered character (dharma-paratā) is highlighted even as Kauśalyā’s maternal grief is foregrounded.