Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 23: Lakṣmaṇa’s Arguments
Text 2.23.5
अस्थाने सम्भ्रमो यस्य जातो वै सुमहानयम्।
धर्मदोषप्रसङ्गेन लोकस्यानतिशङ्कया॥
asthāne sambhramo yasya jāto vai sumahān ayam
dharma-doṣa-prasaṅgena lokasyānatiśaṅkayā
asthāne = [but] this is not the right occasion for that 1; sambhramaḥ yasya jātaḥ vai sumahān ayam = in a very great hurry to go to the forest; dharma-doṣa-prasaṅgena = taking into consideration the defects in not following dharma; lokasya = of the people in general; anatiśaṅkayā = to ward off the great apprehensions.
You are now in a very great hurry to go to the forest to ward off the great apprehensions of the people in general, taking into consideration the defects in not following dharma, [but] this is not the right occasion for that.
Lakṣmaṇa stated that Rāma was considering the defect in not following the dhārmika principle of obeying one’s father’s instructions. Rāma also wanted to ward off the great apprehensions of the people in general; He thought, “If I do not carry out dharma, the world will abandon it.” And therefore, Rāma was in a hurry to go to the forest. But Lakṣmaṇa implied that this was not appropriate.