Valmiki Ramayana 2.63.5: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 63, Shloka 5
दशरथस्य शोकानुचिन्तनं शब्धवेधि-दोषस्मरणं च
Daśaratha’s grief, karmic reflection, and the remembered ‘śabdavedhī’ misdeed
Setting: Ayodhyā (implied palace interior)
स राजा पुत्रशोकार्तः स्मृत्वा दुष्कृतमात्मनः ।
कौसल्यां पुत्रशोकार्तामिदं वचनमब्रवीत् ॥५॥
sa rājā putraśokārtaḥ smṛtvā duṣkṛtam ātmanaḥ |
kausalyāṃ putraśokārtām idaṃ vacanam abravīt ||5||
ఆ రాజు పుత్రశోకంతో బాధపడుతూ, తన దుష్కృతాన్ని స్మరించుకొని, పుత్రశోకంతో కుంగిన కౌసల్యను ఉద్దేశించి ఈ వాక్యములు పలికెను॥
Sandhi Notes
- स राजा → सः राजा (visarga sandhi)
- दुष्कृतमात्मनः → दुष्कृतम् आत्मनः
- कौसल्यां पुत्रशोकार्तामिदं → कौसल्याम् पुत्रशोकार्ताम् इदम्
- वचनमब्रवीत् → वचनम् अब्रवीत्
King Dasaratha distressed by the separation from his son, pondered over his past misdeed, and said to helpless Kausalya, who was equally grieving over the separation from Rama:
The teaching
Remorse arises when duty-bound actions wound intimate bonds; owning one’s duṣkṛta is the first step toward inner purification.
Duties in tension
- Rāja-dharma (upholding promises and political order) vs pitṛ-dharma (protecting the son)
- Truth/pledge-keeping vs compassion toward family
- Ethical theme
- Rāja-dharma and prāyaścitta-bhāva
- How it resolves
- Confession and acceptance of karmic consequence (no immediate remedy)
For your practice
Use as contemplation on repentance (anutaāpa) and truthful self-review; supports daily svādhyāya and restraint of speech.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Karuna (compassion), with Shanta (peace)
- Mood
- Remorseful, heavy-hearted, confessional
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Ethics
- Karma-phala
- Royal suffering
- Narrative framing
Antaḥkaraṇa-vṛtti of śoka and śocana; suffering arising from saṅskāra and doṣa-buddhi, seeking steadiness (sthira-citta).
Kaṭha: the inner self is not healed by external power; remorse turns one inward toward discrimination (viveka) and restraint.
- Dasharatha and Rama
- Father-son (separation/exile implied) (Karuṇā (grief, remorse))
- Dasharatha and Kausalya
- Husband-wife; co-parents sharing bereavement (Karuṇā (shared sorrow))
- Kausalya and Rama
- Mother-son (lament) (Karuṇā)
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.63 (Daśaratha’s śoka and confession sequence); Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.64 (continuation of Daśaratha’s lament to Kauśalyā)
Dharmaśāstra notions of karma and remorse preceding prāyaścitta
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Rāma’s exile as the immediate cause of pūtra-śoka
Anuṣṭup
Grieving
Mandra-niṣāda-pradhāna, slow vilambita with soft kampita on śoka-words
FAQs
It frames suffering as ethically meaningful remembrance: acknowledging past wrongdoing is the first step toward truth (satya) and moral reckoning.
Daśaratha, grieving Rāma’s separation, recalls an earlier sin and begins to narrate it to Kauśalyā.
Moral self-awareness: Daśaratha turns inward, recognizing his own culpability rather than blaming fate alone.
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