Shloka 2.63.4
दशरथस्य शोकानुचिन्तनं शब्धवेधि-दोषस्मरणं च (Daśaratha’s grief, karmic reflection, and the remembered ‘śabdavedhī’ misdeed)
स राजा रजनीं षष्ठीं रामे प्रव्राजिते वनम्।अर्धरात्रे दशरथ स्संस्मरन् दुष्कृतं कृतम्।।2.63.4।।
kiṃ tavāpakṛtaṃ rājan vane nivasatā mayā | jihīrṣur ambho gurv-arthaṃ yad ahaṃ tāḍitas tvayā || 2.63.41 ||
O king, what wrong have I done you, dwelling in the forest? I sought only to fetch water for my elders—yet you have struck me.
After the banishment of Rama the king spent the sixth night, recalling the evil deed done by him in the past.
It asserts the king’s dharma of protection: royal force must not strike the innocent. The verse also elevates satya—plain truth about one’s harmless intent—as a moral witness against unjust violence.
Śravaṇa addresses the archer as “king,” stating he was merely collecting water for his parents when he was shot.
Innocent service and truthfulness: Śravaṇa’s act is motivated by care for elders, and he speaks without deceit even in suffering.