Shloka 1.8.13
अष्टमः सर्गः — Daśaratha Resolves on the Aśvamedha (Horse-Sacrifice) for Progeny
तत: प्रीतोऽभवद्राजा श्रुत्वा तद्विजभाषितम्।अमात्यांश्चाब्रवीद्राजा हर्षपर्याकुलेक्षण:।।।।
cintayānasya tasyaivaṁ buddhir āsīn mahātmanaḥ |
sutārthaṁ hayamedhena kimarthaṁ na yajāmy aham ||
As that great-souled king reflected thus, a resolve arose within him: “For the sake of obtaining sons, why should I not perform the Aśvamedha, the horse-sacrifice?”
On hearing the words of the brahmins, the king was pleased and said to his ministers with eyes excited with delight.
Dharma here is the king’s responsibility to pursue legitimate aims (such as heirs for dynastic continuity) through sanctioned means—Vedic procedure and disciplined resolve rather than impulse.
Daśaratha, troubled by the lack of sons, reflects and arrives at the decision to undertake the Aśvamedha to obtain progeny.
Prudence and purposeful resolve—he forms a plan aligned with established religious and royal norms.