Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 63, Shloka 19
दशरथस्य शोकानुचिन्तनं शब्धवेधि-दोषस्मरणं च
Daśaratha’s grief, karmic reflection, and the remembered ‘śabdavedhī’ misdeed
पाण्डुरारुणवर्णानि स्रोतांसि विमलान्यपि।सुस्रुवुर्गिरिधातुभ्यस्सभस्मानि भुजङ्गवत्।।2.63.19।।
pāṇḍurāruṇa-varṇāni srotāṃsi vimalāny api | susruvur giri-dhātubhyaḥ sa-bhasmāni bhujaṅgavat || 2.63.19 ||
जो धाराएँ अन्यथा निर्मल थीं, वे भी पर्वत-धातुओं के कारण पाण्डुर और अरुण वर्ण की हो गईं; मानो भस्म-मिश्रित होकर सर्पों की भाँति बह चलीं।
Indra-like Dasaratha due to banishment of Rama and Lakshmana, was besieged by a great calamity like the Sun enveloped by demonic dark at the time of eclipse.
FAQs
Dharma requires discernment: what seems pure can be altered by unseen mixtures—an ethical reminder to verify before acting, not to rely on surface impressions.
Rains swell mountain runoffs; minerals tint the waters, creating striking colors and serpentine flows.
Prudence—careful judgment in uncertain conditions, a virtue Daśaratha will later recognize he failed to uphold.