Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 112
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
क्षुरोपमां नित्यमसत्प्रियंवदां प्रदुष्टभावां स्वकुलोपघातिनीम्।न जीवितुं त्वां विषहेऽमनोरमां दिधक्षमाणां हृदयं सबन्धनम्।।2.12,112।।
kṣuropamāṃ nityam asatpriyaṃvadāṃ praduṣṭabhāvāṃ svakulopaghātinīm |
na jīvituṃ tvāṃ viṣahe ’manoramāṃ didhakṣamāṇāṃ hṛdayaṃ sabandhanam ||
तू उस्तरे के समान तीक्ष्ण है—सदा असत्य को प्रिय वचन बनाकर बोलने वाली, दूषित भाव वाली, अपने ही कुल का नाश करने वाली। तू देखने में भी अरुचिकर है और बंधनों सहित हृदय को जलाना चाहती है; मैं तेरा जीवित रहना सह नहीं सकता।
You are like a knife. You always speak palatable lies. You are malevolent. You are a destroyer of your own race. You displease the mind. You are intent on burning down all the links of my heart. I cannot bear to see you alive in this world.
FAQs
It condemns ‘pleasant untruth’ (asat-priya-vacana) as ethically corrosive—speech divorced from satya can sever bonds and destroy a family’s moral order.
Daśaratha, in extreme anguish, denounces Kaikeyī as deceitful and destructive, blaming her for tearing apart the family’s bonds.
Satya (truthfulness) is emphasized by contrast: Kaikeyī is criticized for the opposite—sweet speech that is untrue and harmful in intent.