Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 12: Kaikeyī Reaffirms her Demands
Text 2.12.22
तस्य धर्मात्मनो देवि वने वासं यशस्विनः।
कथं रोचयसे भीरु नव वर्षाणि पञ्च च॥
tasya dharmātmano devi vane vāsaṁ yaśasvinaḥ
kathaṁ rocayase bhīru nava varṣāṇi pañca ca
tasya = Rāma’s; dharma-ātmanaḥ = His mind is devoted to dharma; devi = O queen; vane = in the forest; vāsam = residence; yaśasvinaḥ = and He is famous [for that]; katham = how; rocayase = can be pleasing to you; bhīru = O frightened lady; nava varṣāṇi pañca ca = for fourteen years.
O queen, O frightened lady, how can Rāma’s residence in the forest for fourteen years be pleasing to you? His mind is devoted to dharma and He is famous [for that].
Dharmātmanaḥ indicates that He had not performed any forbidden activity that warrants exile into the forest. By using the word bhīru (“O frightened lady”), Daśaratha hints at the following question in his mind: Where did Kaikeyī’s fear of [transgressing] dharma go?