Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 63, Shloka 14
दशरथस्य शोकानुचिन्तनं शब्धवेधि-दोषस्मरणं च
Daśaratha’s grief, karmic reflection, and the remembered ‘śabdavedhī’ misdeed
देव्यनूढा त्वमभवो युवराजो भवाम्यहम्।ततः प्रावृडनुप्राप्ता मदकामविवर्धिनी।।2.63.14।।
devy anūḍhā tvam abhavo yuvarājo bhavāmy aham |
tataḥ prāvṛḍ anuprāptā mada-kāma-vivardhinī ||
O lady, at that time you were not yet married, and I was the prince-regent; then the rainy season arrived—one that inflames desire and intoxicated pride.
O Kausalya, you were not married then. I was prince regent. The rainy season that inflames passion and pride had just set in.
FAQs
It points to the dharmic need for self-control: external conditions (season, youth, power) can intensify desire and pride, so ethical vigilance is required.
Daśaratha sets the time-frame for the earlier incident he is about to narrate—his youth as yuvarāja, before marrying Kausalyā, during the onset of the rainy season.
Self-restraint (dama): implicitly taught by showing how passion and pride can grow and lead to harmful acts if unchecked.