Valmiki Ramayana 2.43.4: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 43, Shloka 4
कौशल्याविलापः · Kausalya’s Lament and the Vision of Rama’s Return
अथ स्म नगरे रामश्चरन् भैक्षं गृहे वसेत् ।
कामकारो वरं दातुमपि दासं ममात्मजम् ॥४॥
atha sma nagare rāmaś caran bhaikṣaṃ gṛhe vaset |
kāmakāro varaṃ dātum api dāsaṃ mamātmajam ||4||
کاش میں اپنے بیٹے کو بھی اس کی مرضی کے آگے غلام بنا کر دے دیتا؛ تب کم از کم رام شہر ہی میں رہتا، گھر میں بستا، اور بھیک مانگ کر گزر بسر کرتے ہوئے اپنے فرائض ادا کرتا۔
It would have been better had I offered her my son as a slave. He would have lived on in the house by doing his duties and begging his food in the city.
FAQs
The verse highlights the human cost when dharma is violated by coercion: even humiliating compromise seems preferable to unjust banishment. It implicitly critiques decisions driven by desire rather than righteousness.
Kausalya imagines alternative outcomes—anything that would keep Rama within reach—after learning he must leave for the forest.
Rama’s dutifulness is assumed: even in hardship (begging), he would still ‘do what must be done’ (duty), reflecting steadfast adherence to dharma.
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