Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 109
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
नृशंसवृत्ते व्यसनप्रहारिणि प्रसह्य वाक्यं यदिहाद्य भाषसे।न नाम ते केन मुखात्पतन्त्यधो विशीर्यमाणा दशना स्सहस्रधा।।।।
nṛśaṃsavṛtte vyasanaprahāriṇi prasahya vākyaṃ yad ihādya bhāṣase |
na nāma te kena mukhāt patanty adho viśīryamāṇā daśanā sahasradhā ||
Oh mujer de conducta cruel, que hiere en la desgracia: ¿por qué no caen los dientes de tu boca, hechos añicos en mil pedazos, cuando hoy pronuncias a la fuerza tales palabras?
I shall give up Kausalya or Sumitra or all my wealth or even my own life but I cannot leave Rama who is devoted to his father.
FAQs
It condemns cruelty and opportunistic aggression during another’s suffering, implying that speech (vāk) must be governed by dharma, especially in family and royal duty.
Daśaratha, overwhelmed by grief, rebukes Kaikeyī for her merciless words and timing—attacking him when he is most vulnerable.
The implied virtue is compassion in speech; the verse highlights its absence as a moral failing.