Shloka 2.66.5

अयोध्यायां शोकविलापः — Lamentation in Ayodhya after Daśaratha’s death

Devanagari script

भर्तारं तं परित्यज्य का स्त्री दैवतमात्मनः।इच्छेज्जीवितुमन्यत्र कैकेय्यास्त्यक्तधर्मणः।।।।

Transliteration

bhartāraṁ taṁ parityajya kā strī daivatam ātmanaḥ | icchej jīvitum anyatra kaikeyyās tyaktadharmaṇaḥ ||

Translation

What woman, after abandoning her husband—her own living deity—would still wish to live? None, except Kaikeyī, who has cast aside dharma.

Context

Which woman wishes to live, leaving her god-like husband, except Kaikeyi who has given up her sense of duty?

Characters & Entities

• Kaikeyī
• Husband (Daśaratha, implied)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

The verse asserts that dharma sustains relationships and social order; abandoning duty toward one’s rightful spouse (and by extension the household’s moral center) is portrayed as a grave ethical collapse.

What is the narrative situation?

Kauśalyā, overwhelmed by Daśaratha’s death and Rāma’s exile, denounces Kaikeyī as uniquely capable of living after causing such rupture.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

The ideal of fidelity and reverence within marriage (as Kauśalyā understands it), contrasted with Kaikeyī’s perceived moral abandonment.