Shloka 2.61.25
कौसल्याविलापः — Kausalya’s Lament and Ethical Analogies on Kingship
स तादृशस्सिंहबलो वृषभाक्षो नरर्षभः।स्वयमेव हतः पित्रा जलजेनात्मजो यथा।।2.61.25।।
sa tādṛśaḥ siṃhabalo vṛṣabhākṣo nararṣabhaḥ | svayam eva hataḥ pitrā jalajena ātmajo yathā || 2.61.25 ||
Such a Rāma—bull among men, lion-strong, with bull-like eyes—has been slain by his own father, as a fish destroys its own offspring.
Such Rama, the best among men, powerful like a lion, with eyes fierce like that of a bull has been destroyed by his own father just as the big fish destroys its own offsprings.
The verse frames a father’s duty (pitṛ-dharma) as protective and life-sustaining; Kausalyā condemns Daśaratha’s act as a violation of that dharma, using a harsh simile to show moral inversion—one who should safeguard has become the cause of ruin.
After Rāma’s exile has been set in motion, Kausalyā, overwhelmed by grief, speaks bitterly to Daśaratha, blaming him for ‘destroying’ Rāma through his own decision.
Rāma’s excellence and strength are highlighted (nara-ṛṣabha, siṃha-bala), underscoring that even the most worthy can suffer when authority departs from dharma.