Shloka 2.62.18
अयोध्याकाण्डे द्विषष्टितमः सर्गः — Kausalyā consoles Daśaratha; grief, remorse, and nightfall
वनवासाय रामस्य पञ्चरात्रोऽद्य गण्यते।य श्शोकहतहर्षायाः पञ्चवर्षोपमो मम।।।।
tasya cintayamānasya pratyābhāt karma duṣkṛtam | yad anena kṛtaṃ pūrvam ajñānāc chabdavedhinā ||
As he pondered, a sinful deed flashed back to him—what he had once done in ignorance, loosing an arrow guided by sound alone.
This is the fifth night of Rama's exile, but it is like five years to me whose joy has been destroyed by sorrow.
Even unintended harm (born of ignorance) carries moral consequence; dharma requires accountability and recognition of past wrongdoing.
Daśaratha’s mind returns to his earlier accidental killing (the ‘śabdavedhī’ incident), now resurfacing amid his present grief.
Moral awareness: the capacity to recall and judge one’s own actions truthfully is presented as a serious inner reckoning.