Valmiki Ramayana 2.12.75 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 75
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
सा नूनं विधवा राज्यं सपुत्रा कारयिष्यसि।।।।न हि प्रव्राजिते रामे देवि जीवितुमुत्सहे।
sā nūnaṃ vidhavā rājyaṃ sa-putrā kārayiṣyasi,
na hi pravrājite rāme devi jīvitum utsahe.
तू निश्चयच पुत्रासह विधवा होऊन राज्य चालवशील। हे देवी, राम वनवासाला गेल्यावर मला जगण्याची इच्छाच उरत नाही॥
With Rama living in the wilderness and Sita crying, I do not hope to survive for long, indeed.
FAQs
Dharma frames kingship as inseparable from moral legitimacy. A kingdom gained through the suffering of the righteous becomes shadowed by guilt and loss, not true prosperity.
Daśaratha tells Kaikeyī that Rāma’s exile will effectively make her a widow ruling with her son, because he foresees his own death from grief.
Daśaratha’s unwavering attachment to Rāma as the dharmic center of his life—his inability to endure Rāma’s banishment underscores how central righteousness is to his sense of purpose.
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