Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 74
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
न हि राममहं दृष्ट्वा प्रवसन्तं महावने।।।।चिरं जीवितुमाशंसे रुदन्तीं चापि मैथिलीम्।
na hi rāmam ahaṃ dṛṣṭvā pravasantaṃ mahā-vane,
ciraṃ jīvitum āśaṃse rudantīṃ cāpi maithilīm.
确然，见罗摩远居大林之中，又见弥梯利悲泣，我不指望自己还能久活。
What a pity Vaidehi, lamenting like a Kinnari forsaken by a Kinnara on the Himalayan slopes, will cause death to me.
FAQs
The verse shows how adharma fractures the moral heart of a household and ruler: when the righteous are made to suffer, the elder who should protect them experiences self-consuming remorse.
Daśaratha, overwhelmed, declares that witnessing Rāma’s forest life and Sītā’s tears will shorten his own life.
Paternal devotion and moral responsibility: Daśaratha’s identity as protector collapses under the pain of failing Rāma and Sītā.