Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 72, Shloka 37
भरतस्य मातृसदनगमनं कैकेय्या दारुणवृत्तान्तकथनं च
Bharata in Kaikeyi’s apartments: revelation of Daśaratha’s death and Rāma’s exile
इमां तु पश्चिमां वाचं व्याजहार पिता तव।कालधर्मपरिक्षिप्तः पाशैरिव महागजः।।2.72.37।।
imāṃ tu paścimāṃ vācaṃ vyājahāra pitā tava | kāladharmaparikṣiptaḥ pāśair iva mahāgajaḥ || 2.72.37 ||
But your father, ensnared by the law of Time—like a great elephant bound by ropes—uttered these final words.
Your father, caught by the noose of death, like a great elephant bound by cords, uttered these last words:
FAQs
Kāla-dharma (the inevitability of time and death) applies equally to all; dharma includes accepting truthfully the limits of human life.
Bharata is being told how Daśaratha, overpowered by death, spoke his last utterance.
Truthful witnessing: Kausalyā conveys events as they occurred, preserving satya in the face of grief.