Shloka 2.63.41
दशरथस्य शोकानुचिन्तनं शब्धवेधि-दोषस्मरणं च (Daśaratha’s grief, karmic reflection, and the remembered ‘śabdavedhī’ misdeed)
किं तवापकृतं राजन्वने निवसता मया।जिहीर्षुरम्भो गुर्वुर्थं यदहं ताडितस्त्वया।।2.63.41।।
kiṃ tavāpakṛtaṃ rājan vane nivasatā mayā |
jihīrṣur ambho gurv-arthaṃ yad ahaṃ tāḍitas tvayā ||
“O king, what wrong have I done you, I who dwell in the forest? I sought only to draw water for my elders—yet you have struck me down.”
'O king! you have struck me when I was trying to carry water to my parents. I am a forest-dweller. What harm have I done to you?
Pitṛ-sevā as dharma: serving one’s parents/elders is presented as a righteous duty, and harming the innocent—especially one engaged in dharma—becomes a grave moral rupture.
After being struck by Daśaratha’s arrow, the dying youth speaks, revealing he was merely fetching water for his parents.
Śravaṇa’s devotion to parents and blamelessness—his life is defined by service, not hostility.