Shloka 2.61.27
कौसल्याविलापः — Kausalya’s Lament and Ethical Analogies on Kingship
गतिरेका पतिर्नार्या द्वितीया गतिरात्मजः।तृतीया ज्ञातयो राजंश्चतुर्थी नेह विद्यते।।2.61.27।।
gatir ekā patir nāryā dvitīyā gatir ātmajaḥ | tṛtīyā jñātayo rājan caturthī neha vidyate || 2.61.27 ||
O king, a woman has but one refuge—her husband; her second refuge is her son; her third, her kin. In this world there is no fourth.
O king! for a woman the first refuge is the husband, the second her son, the third her relatives and there is no fourth alternative in this world.
The verse articulates a social-ethical expectation of protection and support within family structures: husband, then son, then kin. It is used to argue that Daśaratha’s decision has stripped Kausalyā of her rightful supports, violating relational duty.
Kausalyā explains to Daśaratha that with Rāma exiled and her security shattered, she has been left without any remaining refuge.
The implied virtue is protective responsibility (rakṣaṇa-dharma) expected of a husband-king and of a family system that does not abandon dependents.