सतीं त्वामहमत्यन्तं व्यवस्याम्यसतीं सतीम्।
रूपिणीं विषसंयुक्तां पीत्वेव मदिरां नरः॥
satīṁ tvām aham atyantaṁ vyvasyāmy asatīṁ satīm
rūpiṇīṁ viṣa-saṁyuktāṁ pītveva madirāṁ naraḥ
satīm = were previously chaste; tvām = that you; aham = I am; atyantam = firmly; vyvasyāmi = I am convinced; asatīm = now unchaste; satīm = and are; rūpiṇīm = which is beautiful to look at; viṣa-saṁyuktām = and which is mixed with poison; pītvā = who drinks; iva = like; madirām = wine; naraḥ = a man.
I am firmly convinced that you were previously chaste and are now unchaste. I am like a man who drinks wine which is beautiful to look at and which is mixed with poison.
1 This is a warning to all men helplessly attracted to beautiful women. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has given us a sagacious warning in this regard—ramaṇī-jana-saṅga-sukhaṁ ca sakhe carame bhayadaṁ puruṣārtha-haram / hari-nāma-sudhā-rasa-matta-matir bhaja godruma-kānana-kuñja-vidhum: “O friend, ultimately the pleasure to be had in the company of beautiful young women turns to fearfulness and distracts one from the goals of life. With your mind intoxicated by the nectarean mellows of Lord Hari’s holy name, just worship Lord Gaura, the moon of Godruma’s forest bowers.” (Godruma-candra-bhajanopadeśa 3)
Kaikeyī was previously known to be chaste but because of this act of hers she is considered by her husband to be unchaste. The king considered himself to be like a man who first drinks poisoned wine that is beautiful to look at and finally concludes that it is not good.1
NOTE. Here unchaste does not mean that Kaikeyī was attracted to anyone other than her husband and Daśaratha certainly didn’t imply that. He was referring to chastity as it has been defined in the Dharma-śāstras.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.11.25 summarizes the duties of a chaste woman thus:
strīṇāṁ ca pati-devānāṁ tac-chuśrūṣānukūlatā
tad-bandhuṣv anuvṛttiś ca nityaṁ tad-vrata-dhāraṇam
“To render service to the husband, to be always favorably disposed toward the husband, to be equally well disposed toward the husband’s relatives and friends, and to follow the vows of the husband — these are the four principles to be followed by women described as chaste.”