Valmiki Ramayana 2.42.33: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 42, Shloka 33
द्विचत्वारिंशः सर्गः — दशरथस्य शोक-विलापः तथा कौशल्यागृह-प्रवेशः
Dasaratha’s Lament and Return to Kausalya’s Apartments
अथ रात्र्यां प्रपन्नायां कालरात्र्यामिवात्मनः।अर्धरात्रे दशरथः कौशल्यामिदमब्रवीत्।।।।
atha rātryāṃ prapannāyāṃ kālarātryām ivātmanaḥ | ardharātre daśarathaḥ kauśalyām idam abravīt ||
பின்னர் இரவு வந்தடைந்தபோது—அவனுக்கே மரண இரவுபோல்—நள்ளிரவில் தசரதன் கௌசல்யையிடம் இவ்வாறு கூறினான்.
The king, endowed with rectitude, virtue and also humility, stared at and said to Kaikeyi with pain.
FAQs
The verse frames suffering as a consequence within the moral universe of itihāsa: when dharma is strained (through vows, boons, and exile), the resulting pain can feel like death—yet the narrative insists on truth-bound action.
At midnight, Daśaratha—near collapse—turns to Kausalyā to speak, the night itself described as ominous and death-like for him.
Kausalyā’s role as steady companion in crisis is implied; Daśaratha’s vulnerability foregrounds the human dimension of royal dharma.
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