Shloka 2.61.18
कौसल्याविलापः — Kausalya’s Lament and Ethical Analogies on Kingship
तथा ह्यात्तमिदं राज्यं हृतसारां सुरामिव।नाभिमन्तुमलं रामो नष्टसोममिवाध्वरम्।।2.61.18।।
havir ājyaṃ puroḍāśāḥ kuśā yūpāś ca khādirāḥ |
naitāni yātayāmāni kurvanti punar adhvare || 2.61.17 ||
Offerings—ghee, sacrificial cakes, kuśa grass, and khadira-wood posts—once time-worn and already used, are not employed again in a sacrifice.
In the same way Rama will not accept this kingdom enjoyed by others like liquour or soma juice drained of its essence.
Dharma values purity and propriety: what is ‘spent’ or improperly reused becomes unfit—an analogy for political legitimacy and moral cleanliness.
The speaker uses Vedic ritual standards to argue that what has already been used (or tainted by prior use) should not be reused—preparing the comparison to the kingdom.
Commitment to ritual and moral order: appropriateness (aucitya) and purity (śauca) as measures of right action.