Valmiki Ramayana 2.14.10: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 14, Shloka 10
सत्यपाशः · Kaikeyi’s Demand and the Noose of the King’s Promise
समयं च ममार्येमं यदि त्वं न करिष्यसि ।
अग्रतस्ते परित्यक्ता परित्यक्ष्यामि जीवितम् ॥१०॥
samayaṃ ca mamāryemam yadi tvaṃ na kariṣyasi |
agratas te parityaktā parityakṣyāmi jīvitam ||10||
आर्य, मैंने तुमसे एक वादा किया था। अगर तुम वो नहीं मानोगे, तो मैं तुम्हारे सामने मर जाऊँगी। तुम मुझे वहीं छोड़ दोगे।
O noble one, if you do not fulfil the agreement, it will mean I have been abandoned by you. (Therefore) I will give up my life in your presence.
FAQs
It tests satya (truth to one’s word) versus coercion: a vow is invoked, but the method is moral pressure and threat, raising questions about righteous use of promises.
Kaikeyī threatens suicide if Daśaratha does not honor the boons/compact, intensifying the crisis.
Daśaratha’s commitment to truth is indirectly emphasized, because Kaikeyī weaponizes his vow-keeping nature.
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