Shloka 6.102.17
लक्ष्मण-प्राणरक्षा: (Lakshmana’s Revival by the Herb-Mountain)
किनुराज्येनदुर्धर्षलक्ष्मणेनविनामम ।कथंवक्ष्याम्यहंत्वम्बांसुमित्रांपुत्रवत्सलाम् ।।।।
kiṃ nu rājyena durdharṣa lakṣmaṇena vinā mama | kathaṃ vakṣyāmy ahaṃ tv ambāṃ sumitrāṃ putravatsalām ||
“Without Lakṣmaṇa—so hard to overcome—what is a kingdom to me? And how could I ever speak to mother Sumitrā, so tender toward her son?”
'Without Lakshmana who is difficult to win, what use is kingdom to me? What can I tell mother Sumithra who is the lover of her son?'
Accountability to family and truthfulness: Rama measures kingship against moral responsibility—he cannot value power while failing his duty toward Lakṣmaṇa and Sumitrā.
Rama imagines the aftermath of Lakṣmaṇa’s death and the unbearable obligation of reporting it to Sumitrā.
Conscience and familial duty—placing ethical responsibility above political gain.