Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 4: Daśaratha’s Anxiety About Coronating Rāma
Text 2.4.20
तद्यावदेव मे चेतो न विमुञ्चति राघव।
तावदेवाभिषिञ्चस्व चला हि प्राणिनां मतिः॥
tad yāvad eva me ceto na vimuñcati rāghava
tāvad evābhiṣiñcasva calā hi prāṇināṁ matiḥ
tat = the desire to coronate You; yāvat eva = as; me = my; cetaḥ = mind; na = not; vimuñcati = does abandon; rāghava = Rāghava; tāvat eva = as long; abhiṣiñcasva = [therefore] please become coronated [as the crown prince]; calā = is fickle; hi = since; prāṇinām = of the creatures; matiḥ = the mind.
[Therefore,] Rāghava, as long as my mind does not abandon the desire to coronate You, please become coronated [as the crown prince], since the mind of the creatures is fickle.
But why would Daśaratha’s mind abandon that desire? That is noted at the end of the verse: since the mind of the creatures is fickle. Daśaratha thought that it could happen by the prayer of some other mother of Rāma.