Valmiki Ramayana 2.12.36: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 36
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
अञ्जलिं करोमि कैकेयि पादौ चापि स्पृशामि ते।शरणं भव रामस्य माऽधर्मो मामिह स्पृशेत्।।।।
añjaliṃ karomi kaikeyi pādau cāpi spṛśāmi te |
śaraṇaṃ bhava rāmasya mā ’dharmaḥ mām iha spṛśet ||
اے کیکئی! میں ہاتھ جوڑ کر تیری منت کرتا ہوں اور تیرے قدم بھی چھوتا ہوں۔ رام کے لیے پناہ بن جا؛ اس معاملے میں ادھرم مجھے نہ چھوئے۔
O Kaikeyi I bow to you with folded palms. I touch your feet, too. Be the saviour of Rama. Let no sin taint me here (in this life).
FAQs
Avoiding adharma is paramount; Daśaratha frames Kaikeyī’s choice as decisive for whether righteousness is preserved or violated.
In extreme desperation, Daśaratha humbles himself before Kaikeyī, pleading that she protect Rāma from the consequences of her demand.
Daśaratha’s reverence for dharma and fear of adharma, expressed through physical humility and supplication.
Ask anything about this verse
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Valmiki Ramayana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.