अहं राघव कैकेय्या वरदानेन मोहितः।
अयोध्यायास्त्वमेवाद्य भव राजा निगृह्य माम्॥
ahaṁ rāghava kaikeyyā vara-dānena mohitaḥ
ayodhyāyās tvam evādya bhava rājā nigṛhya mām
aham = I; rāghava = Rāghava; kaikeyyā = by Kaikeyī; vara-dānena = by granting her the boons she had asked for; mohitaḥ = have been deluded; ayodhyāyāḥ = of Ayodhyā; tvam1 eva adya = today itself; bhava = become; rājā = the king; nigṛhya = arrest and; mām = me.
Rāghava, I have been deluded by Kaikeyī, by granting her the boons she had asked for. Arrest me and become the king of Ayodhyā today itself!1
1 Technical note: tvam bhava.
1 Daśaratha’s logic is: Kaikeyī has cheated Daśaratha to prevent Rāma from sitting on the throne; similarly, he wanted Rāma to cheat her by arresting him and sitting on the throne. Daśaratha would then become incapable of fulfilling his promise to her and Rāma would be spotless. This is standard political intrigue common among kṣatriyas. But Rāma, the very personification of Vedic dharma, does not even consider such possibilities. This is a lesson to all aspiring spiritualists.
Kaikeyī had deluded Daśaratha by cheating him.