Shloka 2.61.17
कौसल्याविलापः — Kausalya’s Lament and Ethical Analogies on Kingship
हविराज्यं पुरोडाशाः कुशा यूपाश्च खादिराः।नैतानि यातयामानि कुर्वन्ति पुनरध्वरे।।2.61.17।।
na pareṇāhṛtaṃ bhakṣyaṃ vyāghraḥ khāditum icchati |
evam etan naravyāghraḥ paralīḍhaṃ na manyate || 2.61.16 ||
A tiger does not wish to eat food procured by another beast; so too Rāma—the tiger among men—will not accept a kingdom already “tasted” and enjoyed by others.
Havis, sacrificial offerings like ghee, cakes, kusha grass, and sacrificial posts made from khadira wood, once used in the sacrifice cannot be used again.
Legitimate rule is not merely possession; it must be morally clean and properly conferred. Dharma rejects benefits obtained through another’s wrongdoing or prior improper enjoyment.
The speaker argues that Rāma will refuse any ‘second-hand’ kingship—one made tainted by prior appropriation—intensifying the warning to the king.
Rāma’s integrity and royal dignity (maryādā): he will not accept compromised power.