Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 12, Shloka 93
द्वादशः सर्गः — Kaikeyi’s Boons and Dasaratha’s Moral Collapse
Ayodhya Kanda 12
प्रियं चेद्भरतस्यैतद्रामप्रव्राजनं भवेत्।।।।मा स्म मे भरतः कार्षीत्प्रेतकृत्यं गतायुषः।
priyaṃ ced bharatasyaitad rāmapravrājanaṃ bhavet | mā sma me bharataḥ kārṣīt pretakṛtyaṃ gatāyuṣaḥ ||
若罗摩的放逐果真令婆罗多欢喜，那么当我寿命已尽之时，愿婆罗多不要为我举行丧葬祭仪。
If Rama's exile is approved by Bharata, then let him not perform my funeral rites after my death.
FAQs
Dharma links rights to responsibilities: if Bharata benefits from unrighteous exile, he forfeits the moral claim to perform sacred duties for his father.
Daśaratha, suspecting the exile may advantage Bharata, declares that if Bharata approves it, he should not conduct Daśaratha’s final rites.
The sanctity of funerary duty (śrāddha/pretakṛtya) as an ethical act—implying that moral complicity disqualifies ritual authority.