Valmiki Ramayana 2.12.3-5: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shlokas 3-5
द्वादशः सर्गः · Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
Setting: Ayodhyā (inner palace/queen+cs apartments implied)
इति सञ्चिन्त्य तद्राजा नाध्यगच्छत्तदासुखम् ।
प्रतिलभ्य चिरात्संज्ञां कैकेयीवाक्यताडितः ॥३॥
व्यथितो विक्लबश्चैव व्याघ्रीं दृष्ट्वा यथा मृगः ।
असंवृतायामासीनो जगत्यां दीर्घमुच्छवसन् ॥४॥
मण्डले पन्नगो रुद्धो मन्त्रैरिव महाविषः ।
अहो धिगिति सामर्षो वाचमुक्त्वा नराधिपः ॥५॥
मोहमापेदिवान्भूय श्शोकोपहतचेतनः ।
iti sañcintya tad rājā nādhyagacchat tadā sukham |
pratilabhya cirāt saṃjñāṃ kaikeyīvākyatāḍitaḥ ||3||
vyathito viklabaś caiva vyāghrīṃ dṛṣṭvā yathā mṛgaḥ |
asaṃvṛtāyām āsīno jagatyāṃ dīrgham ucchvasan ||4||
maṇḍale pannago ruddho mantrair iva mahāviṣaḥ |
aho dhig iti sāmarṣo vācam uktvā narādhipaḥ ||5||
mohaṃ āpedivān bhūyaḥ śokopahatacetanaḥ |
Berfikir demikian, raja tidak menemukan sebarang ketenteraman. Dipukul oleh kata-kata Kaikeyī, setelah lama barulah baginda sedar semula; baginda gelisah dan gementar seperti rusa melihat harimau betina. Baginda duduk di tanah yang kosong, menghela nafas panjang dan berat, bagaikan ular berbisa besar yang terkurung dalam bulatan oleh mantera. Dengan marah dan pedih baginda berseru, “Aduh, sungguh memalukan!”, lalu raja manusia itu—akalnya dihentam dukacita—sekali lagi tenggelam dalam kabur pengsan.
Sandhi Notes
- तद्राजा = तत् + राजा
- नाध्यगच्छत् = न + अध्यगच्छत्
- चिरात्संज्ञाम् = चिरात् + संज्ञाम्
- कैकेयीवाक्यताडितः = कैकेयी + वाक्य + ताडितः
- विक्लबश्चैव = विक्लबः + च + एव
- असंवृतायामासीनः = असंवृतायाम् + आसीनः
- दीर्घमुच्छ्वसन् = दीर्घम् + उच्छ्वसन्
- मन्त्रैरिव = मन्त्रैः + इव
- धिगिति = धिक् + इति
- वाचमुक्त्वा = वाचम् + उक्त्वा
- मोहमापेदिवान् = मोहम् + आपेदिवान्
The King absorbed in such thoughts did not get solace. He was startled and distressed like a deer beholding a tigress. He had long lost the senses struck by the (ruthless) words of Kaikeyi. He sank down upon the bare floor heaving deep sighs like a venomous serpent lying confined in a circle. 'What a pity' said the king with indignation and with his senses overwhelmed by sorrow fell into a stupor again.
The teaching
Unexamined boons and promises can become fetters; grief (moha) can paralyze discernment, so a ruler must cultivate steadiness before binding commitments.
Duties in tension
- Satya-pālana (keeping boons/oaths) vs putra-vātsalya (protecting Rāma)
- Rāja-dharma (stable succession, welfare of realm) vs personal attachment and grief
- Justice/fairness vs coercion through past obligation
- Ethical theme
- Rāja-dharma; satya; prajā-hita
For your practice
Contemplation on the destructiveness of moha-śoka; practice of equanimity (samatva) and mindful speech/commitment.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Bhayanaka (fear)
- Mood
- Shattered, gasping, stupefied
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Ethics
- Grief
- Royal responsibility
- Psychological turmoil
Moha-śoka as avidyā-vikƾpa: the mind, struck by painful vāk, loses steadiness (sthiti) and falls into tamas-like stupor.
Katha Upaniƺd imagery of the mind/indriyas losing control; also the notion that grief veils the Self (antarātman) like a covering (āvaraƺ).
- Dasharatha and Kaikeyi
- Husbandwife; kingqueen; boon-debtor vs claimant (adversarial)
- Dasharatha and Rama
- Fatherson; kingheir-apparent (implied) (protective-grieving)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaƺ 2.12.51Ƶ3 (continuation of Daśaratha+cs shock); Vālmīki Rāmāyaƺ 2.20Ʋ2 (Daśaratha+cs collapse and lament)
Vedic/Brāhmaƺ tradition of mantra-circles restraining serpents (mantra-prabhāva); Simile tradition: mga before vyāghrī as fear-shock
Daśaratha+cs earlier boons to Kaikeyī (Ayodhyākāǚ background); Rāma+cs intended abhiƾka context (2.11Ʋ.12)
Anuubh (predominant in Vālmīki Rāmāyaƺ; with extended narrative cadence across multiple pādas)
Grieving
Mandra-niāda to madhyama, with heavy kampita on dukha-words
FAQs
The passage frames the human cost when dharma is pressured by coercive demands: a king bound by truthfulness and prior promises suffers intensely when those vows are leveraged toward harmful ends.
After hearing Kaikeyī’s harsh insistence on the boons, Daśaratha repeatedly loses composure, regains consciousness briefly, then collapses again under grief and shock.
Daśaratha’s satya-saṅkalpa (commitment to truth/keeping promises) is implicit—his collapse shows the strain of maintaining vowed truth when it conflicts with paternal love and justice.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Valmiki Ramayana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.
