Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 94
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
हन्तानार्ये ममामित्रे सकामा भव कैकयि।।।।मृते मयि गते रामे वनं पुरुषपुङ्गवे।सेदानीं विधवा राज्यं सपुत्रा कारयिष्यसि।।।।
hantānārye mamāmitre sakāmā bhava kaikayi.
¡Ay, mujer innoble, enemiga mía, Kaikeyī: que tus deseos, en verdad, se cumplan!
O my enemy, O wicked Kaikeyi, after Rama, the foremost of men, has left for the forest your desires will be fulfilled. And after my death, you as a widow along with your son will rule the kingdom.
FAQs
The verse frames the tragedy of desire opposed to dharma: a wish may be ‘fulfilled’ yet still be adharma when it destroys rightful order and familial duty.
Daśaratha, shattered by Kaikeyī’s demands (Rāma’s exile and Bharata’s coronation), addresses her with bitter lament.
Daśaratha’s moral sensitivity: he recognizes the ethical ruin caused by wrongful desire, even as he is trapped by prior promises.