Valmiki Ramayana 2.13.5: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 13, Shloka 5
अयोध्याकाण्डे त्रयोदशः सर्गः | Kaikeyi Presses the Boons; Dasaratha’s Lament and Collapse
Spoken by Dasharatha to KaikeyiSetting: Ayodhyā palace (inner chamber)Places named: vana (forest, as destination)Foreshadowed departure of Rāma to forest-exile
मृते मयि गते रामे वनं मनुजपुङ्गवे ।
हन्तानार्ये ममामित्रे सकामा सुखिनी भव ॥५॥
mṛte mayi gate rāme vanaṃ manuja-puṅgave |
hantānārye mamāmitre sakāmā sukhinī bhava ||5||
我が身が死に、そして人中の雄ラーマが森へ去ったなら、ああ、卑しき者よ、我が敵よ――望みが叶ったのだから、その時は幸せであれ。
Sandhi Notes
- हन्तानार्ये = हन्ता + अनार्ये
- ममामित्रे = मम + अमित्रे
Alas! O ignoble woman, my enemy, your desire would be fulfilled after Rama, the foremost among men is exiled and I am dead. You will be happy thereafter!
The teaching
When desire governs decisions, relationships corrode into enmity; harsh speech arises from grief, yet it signals the breakdown of household dharma.
Duties in tension
- Keeping the boon (satya)
- Protecting the rightful heir and family harmony
- Maintaining marital respect vs condemning perceived adharma
- Ethical theme
- Kāma-driven adharma and its relational fallout
For your practice
Contemplate the cost of kāma and the need for compassion in conflict; cultivate non-harming speech even under sorrow.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Raudra (fury)
- Mood
- Heartbroken, bitter, fatalistic
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Ethics
- Itihasa
- Lament
Attachment (moha) produces suffering; when the beloved object is threatened, the ego collapses into despair and aversion.
Bṛhadāraṇyaka/Chāndogya themes: desire as root of sorrow; here ‘sakāmā’ marks kāma’s tyranny over household dharma.
- Dasharatha and Kaikeyi
- Husband condemning wife; love turned to enmity (hostile)
- Dasharatha and Rama
- Father-son; protective affection and despair at separation (grieving)
- Kaikeyi and Rama
- Stepmother causing exile of heir-apparent (adversarial)
- Dasharatha and Death
- Foreboding acceptance of mortality due to sorrow (despairing)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.14-2.15 (Daśaratha’s continued lament and collapse); Rāmacaritamānasa Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Daśaratha’s anguish and denunciation of Kaikeyī (thematic parallel)
Dharmaśāstra condemnation of anārya conduct (broad cultural allusion)
Ayodhyākāṇḍa earlier praise of Rāma as ‘manuja-śreṣṭha’ intensifies the tragedy of his exile
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Grieving
Mandra register emphasis on "mṛte mayi" and "hantā"
FAQs
It exposes the ethical tragedy of misused rights: a boon and vow (meant to uphold honor) can be weaponized against dharma, bringing ruin rather than harmony.
Daśaratha, despairing, speaks bitterly to Kaikeyī, predicting his death and Rāma’s exile.
Rāma’s stature as ‘foremost among men’ is affirmed even in crisis, implying his worthiness and dharmic excellence.
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