Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 58, Shloka 6
अष्टपञ्चाशः सर्गः (Sarga 58)
Daśaratha Questions Sumantra; Messages from the Forest Threshold
दुःखस्यानुचितो दुःखं सुमन्त्र शयनोचितः।भूमिपालात्मजो भूमौ शेते कथमनाथवत्।।।।
duḥkhasyānucito duḥkhaṃ sumantra śayanocitaḥ |
bhūmipālātmajo bhūmau śete katham anāthavat ||
“O Sumantra, hindi siya nararapat sa pagdurusa at sanay sa marangal na higaan. Paano mahihiga sa lupa ang anak ng tagapangalaga ng daigdig, na tila isang walang kanlungan?”
'Having banished the righteous Rama, the delight of all subjects and, thereby,antagonizing the entire world, how can you claim to be their king?'
FAQs
The verse highlights the tension between royal comfort and dharmic renunciation: dharma may demand that even a prince accept austerity.
Dasharatha laments the thought of Rama sleeping on the ground in the forest, far from palace protections.
Dasharatha’s protective parental love; and implicitly, Rama’s capacity to endure hardship for truth.