Shloka 2.63.12
दशरथस्य शोकानुचिन्तनं शब्धवेधि-दोषस्मरणं च (Daśaratha’s grief, karmic reflection, and the remembered ‘śabdavedhī’ misdeed)
तदिदं मेऽनुसंम्प्राप्तं देवि दुःखं स्वयं कृतम्।सम्मोहादिह बालेन यथा स्याद्भक्षितं विषम्।।2.63.12।।
tad idaṃ me ’nusaṃprāptaṃ devi duḥkhaṃ svayaṃ kṛtam |
sammohād iha bālena yathā syād bhakṣitaṃ viṣam ||
O lady, this sorrow has come upon me as the fruit of my own deed—like poison eaten by a child in delusion in this very world.
Just as a boy consumes poison out of delusion, O Devi, this sorrow has befallen me as a result of my own action.
It teaches karma and responsibility: suffering can be the direct consequence of one’s own actions, and dharma begins with owning that causality rather than denying it.
Daśaratha interprets his present agony as self-caused, comparing it to a child’s self-harm through deluded choice.
Accountability (ātma-doṣa-darśana): the willingness to recognize one’s own error as the source of misfortune.