Valmiki Ramayana 2.12.63-64: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shlokas 63-64
द्वादशः सर्गः · Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
तां हि मे सुकृतां बुद्धिं सुहृद्भिस्सह निश्चिताम् ॥६३॥
कथं द्रक्ष्याम्यपावृत्तां परैरिव हतां चमूम् ।
किं मां वक्ष्यन्ति राजानो नानादिग्भ्य स्समागताः ॥६४॥
बालो बताऽयमैक्ष्वाकश्चिरं राज्यमकारयत् ।
tāṃ hi me sukṛtāṃ buddhiṃ suhṛdbhiḥ saha niścitām ||63||
kathaṃ drakṣyāmy apāvṛttāṃ parair iva hatāṃ camūm |
kiṃ māṃ vakṣyanti rājāno nānādigbhyaḥ samāgatāḥ ||64||
bālo batāyam aikṣvākaś ciraṃ rājyam akārayat |
സുഹൃത്തുകളോടൊപ്പം ആലോചിച്ച് ഞാൻ ഉറപ്പിച്ച ആ നന്മയുള്ള ദൃഢനിശ്ചയം എങ്ങനെ ഞാൻ പിൻവലിക്കപ്പെട്ടതായി കാണും—ശത്രുക്കൾ തോൽപ്പിച്ച് പിന്മാറ്റിയ സൈന്യത്തെപ്പോലെ? നാനാദിക്കുകളിൽ നിന്ന് കൂടിയ രാജാക്കന്മാർ എന്നെക്കുറിച്ച് എന്ത് പറയും? ‘അയ്യോ, ഈ ഇക്ഷ്വാകു ബാലൻ; ഇത്രകാലം രാജ്യം എങ്ങനെ ഭരിച്ചു?’
I have taken this decision in consultation with friends to install Rama. How can I see such a decision being reversed like a retreating army defeated by enemies? Kings from different quarters have already arrived and they will say, How did this ignorant descendant of the Ikshakus (Dasaratha) rule this kingdom for such a long time?
FAQs
Rājadharma includes consistency, credibility, and accountability: a king’s decisions must be stable and righteous, not overturned by private intrigue, because the realm’s moral order depends on public trust.
Daśaratha laments that his publicly prepared decision to install Rāma—made with advisors and in view of visiting kings—would be disgracefully reversed.
Responsibility to institutions and reputation: Daśaratha recognizes that a ruler’s integrity is judged by steadiness and justice in governance.
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