Shloka 1.20.24
राज्ञः शङ्का–प्रत्याख्यानम् (Daśaratha’s Objections to Sending Rāma) — Bala Kanda, Sarga 20
कथमप्यमरप्रख्यं सङ्ग्रामाणामकोविदम्।बालं मे तनयं ब्रह्मन् नैव दास्यामि पुत्रकम्।।।।
katham apy amaraprakhyaṁ saṅgrāmāṇām akovidam | bālaṁ me tanayaṁ brahman naiva dāsyāmi putrakam |
O Brahman, even if my son appears like a celestial, he is unskilled in warfare; he is still a child. I will not give up my young son—not under any pretext.
O brahman! although my son resembles the celestials he is not experienced in warfare. On no account shall I spare him.
A guardian’s dharma is to protect the vulnerable; Daśaratha voices a moral boundary against sending an untrained child into lethal danger, even for a noble cause.
Daśaratha openly refuses Viśvāmitra’s request, emphasizing Rāma’s youth and inexperience in battle.
Protective love and steadfastness—Daśaratha stands firm in his paternal responsibility (even as the narrative will later move him toward compliance with the sage’s higher dharmic demand).