Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 10
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
जीवलोको यदा सर्वो रामस्याह गुणस्तवम्।।।।अपराधं किमुद्दिश्य त्यक्ष्यामीष्टमहं सुतम्।
jīvaloko yadā sarvo rāmasyāha guṇastavam | aparādhaṃ kim uddiśya tyakṣyām iṣṭam ahaṃ sutam ||
当世间一切众生都在颂扬罗摩的德行时，我还能指着什么“过错”去舍弃我心爱的儿子呢？
When all living beings of this world are extoling the virtues of Rama, for what crime should I abandon my beloved son?
FAQs
Dharma as fairness: punishment or abandonment must have a just cause. Daśaratha appeals to the public moral consensus about Rama’s virtue to question any claim of wrongdoing.
Daśaratha protests Kaikeyī’s demand by arguing that Rama is universally praised and therefore cannot be cast out as if guilty.
Rama’s established excellence (guṇa) and blamelessness, acknowledged by society.