Shloka 16
वैव वंशे सगरो ज्येष्ठं पुत्रमुपारुधत्।असमञ्ज इति ख्यातं तथायं गन्तुमर्हति।।।।
tavaiva vaṃśe sagaro jyeṣṭhaṃ putram upārudhat | asamañja iti khyātaṃ tathāyaṃ gantum arhati || 2.36.16 ||
നിന്റെ തന്നെ വംശത്തിൽ സഗരൻ തന്റെ മൂത്ത പുത്രനായ—അസമഞ്ജൻ എന്നു പ്രസിദ്ധനായവനെ—തടഞ്ഞു; അതുപോലെ ഈ രാമനും അങ്ങനെ തന്നെ അയക്കപ്പെടേണ്ടവനാണ്.
In your own dynasty king Sagara prevented his well-known eldest son Asamanjasa (from enjoying the kingdom). Rama also should depart in the same manner.
FAQs
It raises the question of precedent in rāja-dharma: past dynastic examples are invoked to justify political decisions—yet precedent can be misapplied when motives are not righteous.
Kaikeyī attempts to legitimize Rāma’s exile by citing an earlier Ikṣvāku case where an eldest son was excluded.
The verse foregrounds political reasoning (nyāya/precedent) rather than virtue; implicitly it tests Daśaratha’s discernment to separate dharmic precedent from self-serving rhetoric.