Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 39
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
यदि दत्त्वा वरौ राजन्पुनः प्रत्यनुतप्यसे।धार्मिकत्वं कथं वीर पृथिव्यां कथयिष्यसि।।।।
yadi dattvā varau rājan punaḥ pratyanutapyase |
dhārmikatvaṃ kathaṃ vīra pṛthivyāṃ kathayiṣyasi ||
若你，国王啊，赐下两项恩许后又再悔恨，那么你这勇者将如何在世间宣说你的正法与正直？
Then the fierce Kaikeyi used fiercer words in reply to the king who was tormented with grief and filled with tears, senses switched off, head reeling, overwhelmed with pain, beseeching again and again to ferry him across the ocean of sorrow as quickly as possible:
FAQs
Satya and pledge-keeping are tied to royal dharma: a king’s righteousness is judged by fidelity to granted promises, even when painful.
Kaikeyī counters Daśaratha’s pleas by pressuring him to uphold the boons he once promised, invoking his public reputation for dharma.
Daśaratha’s dhārmikatva is invoked as an obligation—his identity as a righteous king is made contingent on keeping his word.