Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 64, Shloka 1
शब्दवेध्य-अनर्थः, ऋषिशापः, दशरथस्य प्राणत्यागः
The Sound-Target Tragedy, the Sage’s Curse, and Dasaratha’s Death
वधमप्रतिरूपं तु महर्षेस्तस्य राघवः।विलपन्नेव धर्मात्मा कौसल्यां पुनरब्रवीत्।।।।
vadham apratirūpaṃ tu maharṣes tasya rāghavaḥ | vilapann eva dharmātmā kauśalyāṃ punar abravīt || 2.64.1 ||
ಮಹರ್ಷಿಯ ಆ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಅನುರೂಪವಲ್ಲದ ವಧವನ್ನು ನೆನೆದು ವಿಲಪಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ಧರ್ಮಾತ್ಮ ರಾಘವ (ದಶರಥ) ಮತ್ತೆ ಕೌಸಲ್ಯೆಗೆ ಹೇಳಿದರು.
Grieving for having unfairly killed the great sage the rightenous descendant of the Raghus (Dasaratha) coutinued to tell Kausalya about it:
FAQs
Dharma is measured by propriety and justice: the text explicitly marks the killing as “unbefitting,” reinforcing that even kings are bound by moral law.
The narration transitions into the next chapter as Daśaratha continues recounting his past wrongdoing to Kauśalyā.
Moral self-scrutiny: Daśaratha’s righteousness is shown through his grief and willingness to confront his fault.