Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 63, Shloka 12
दशरथस्य शोकानुचिन्तनं शब्धवेधि-दोषस्मरणं च
Daśaratha’s grief, karmic reflection, and the remembered ‘śabdavedhī’ misdeed
तदिदं मेऽनुसंम्प्राप्तं देवि दुःखं स्वयं कृतम्।सम्मोहादिह बालेन यथा स्याद्भक्षितं विषम्।।2.63.12।।
tad idaṃ me ’nusaṃprāptaṃ devi duḥkhaṃ svayaṃ kṛtam |
sammohād iha bālena yathā syād bhakṣitaṃ viṣam ||
ਹੇ ਦੇਵੀ, ਇਹ ਦੁੱਖ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਆਪਣੇ ਹੀ ਕੀਤੇ ਕਰਮ ਦੇ ਫਲ ਵਜੋਂ ਆਪ ਹੀ ਆ ਪਹੁੰਚਿਆ ਹੈ—ਜਿਵੇਂ ਮੋਹ ਵਿੱਚ ਪਿਆ ਬਾਲਕ ਇਸੇ ਲੋਕ ਵਿੱਚ ਵਿਸ਼ ਖਾ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ।
Just as a boy consumes poison out of delusion, O Devi, this sorrow has befallen me as a result of my own action.
FAQs
It teaches karma and responsibility: suffering can be the direct consequence of one’s own actions, and dharma begins with owning that causality rather than denying it.
Daśaratha interprets his present agony as self-caused, comparing it to a child’s self-harm through deluded choice.
Accountability (ātma-doṣa-darśana): the willingness to recognize one’s own error as the source of misfortune.