Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 80
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
चिरं खलु मया पापे त्वं पापेनाभिरक्षिता।अज्ञानादुपसम्पन्ना रज्जुरुद्बन्धिनी यथा।।।।
ciraṁ khalu mayā pāpe tvaṁ pāpenābhirakṣitā | ajñānād upasampannā rajjur udbandhinī yathā ||
ਹੇ ਪਾਪਣ, ਲੰਮੇ ਸਮੇਂ ਤੱਕ ਮੈਂ ਤੈਨੂੰ—ਪਾਪ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ ਅਤੇ ਅਗਿਆਨ ਵਿੱਚ—ਬਚਾਇਆ; ਜਿਵੇਂ ਕੋਈ ਉਸ ਰੱਸੀ ਨੂੰ ਸੰਭਾਲੇ ਜੋ ਅੰਤ ਨੂੰ ਫਾਹਾ ਬਣ ਜਾਵੇ।
O wretch I protected you in my folly for a long time through ignorance, like a rope preserved which turned out to be a noose to hang me with.
FAQs
It warns that protection or patronage without discernment can empower adharma; dharma requires wise judgment, not blind attachment.
Daśaratha bitterly regrets having long favored Kaikeyī, now seeing that trust as self-destructive.
The verse emphasizes the need for viveka (discernment) as a supporting virtue for dharmic governance and household life.