Valmiki Ramayana 2.14.23: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 14, Shloka 23
सत्यपाशः
Kaikeyi’s Demand and the Noose of the King’s Promise
स नुन्न इव तीक्ष्णेन प्रतोदेन हयोत्तमः।राजा प्रचोदितोऽभीक्ष्णं कैकेयीमिदमब्रवीत्।।।।
sa nunna iva tīkṣṇena pratodena hayottamaḥ |
rājā pracodito ’bhīkṣṇaṃ kaikeyīm idam abravīt ||
स नुन्न इव तीक्ष्णेन प्रतोदेन हयोत्तमः। राजा प्रचोदितोऽभीक्ष्णं कैकेयीमिदमब्रवीत्॥
The king who was very much incited by her words, like a horse of the best breed whipped by the lash, replied to Kaikeyi:
FAQs
It illustrates how coercion distorts moral agency: dharma requires free, discerning choice, but Daśaratha is depicted as driven under relentless pressure.
The narrator compares Daśaratha’s condition to a goaded horse as he prepares to respond to Kaikeyī’s harsh insistence.
The implied virtue is inner steadiness; the verse shows its absence under emotional and verbal compulsion.
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