Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 13, Shloka 14
अयोध्याकाण्डे त्रयोदशः सर्गः | Kaikeyi Presses the Boons; Dasaratha’s Lament and Collapse
तथा विलपतस्तस्य परिभ्रमितचेतसः।।।।अस्तमभ्यगमत्सूर्यो रजनी चाभ्यवर्तत।
tathā vilapatas tasya paribhramitacetasaḥ |
astam abhyagamāt sūryo rajanī cābhyavartata |
एवं विलपतः तस्य परिभ्रमितचेतसः सूर्यः अस्तम् अभ्यगमत्, रजनी चाभ्यवर्तत।
While Dasaratha was thus lamenting with a distracted mind, the Sun set and night fell.
FAQs
The verse frames a dharma-crisis through the movement of time: when duty and truth are under strain, inner turmoil can eclipse clarity, symbolized by day giving way to night.
Daśaratha continues grieving; the narration marks the passage from day to night during his prolonged lament.
Not a virtue but a human vulnerability: the king’s shaken composure under unbearable moral and emotional pressure.