Shloka 2.63.24
दशरथस्य शोकानुचिन्तनं शब्धवेधि-दोषस्मरणं च (Daśaratha’s grief, karmic reflection, and the remembered ‘śabdavedhī’ misdeed)
अथान्धकारे त्वश्रौषं जले कुम्भस्य पूर्यतः।अचक्षुर्विषये घोषं वारणस्येव नर्दतः।।2.63.24।।
sabhārye nirgate rāme kausalyāṃ kośaleśvaraḥ |
vivakṣur asitāpāṅgāṃ smṛtvā duṣkṛtam ātmanaḥ || 2.63.3 ||
After Rāma had departed with his wife, the lord of Kośala (Daśaratha), remembering his own past misdeed, wished to speak of it to dark-eyed Kausalyā.
Then at a place that was out of the range of my sight in darkness I heard the sound of a pitcher being filled with water which resembled the sound of an elephant.
Dharma here is moral accountability: a ruler must acknowledge wrongdoing rather than conceal it, especially when its consequences harm others.
After Rāma leaves for exile with Sītā, Daśaratha is overwhelmed by grief and recalls an earlier sin, preparing to narrate it to Kausalyā.
Truthfulness through confession (satya-vāda) and remorse—Daśaratha’s willingness to articulate his fault.