Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 58: Sumantra Conveys the Message of Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa
Text 2.58.29
इदं तावद्यथाकाममीश्वरस्य कृते कृतम्।
रामस्य तु परित्यागे न हेतुमुपलक्षये॥
idaṁ tāvad yathā-kāmam īśvarasya kṛte kṛtam
rāmasya tu parityāge na hetum upalakṣaye
idam = this; tāvat = just; yathā-kāmam = has been whimsically; īśvarasya kṛte = as an independent lord; kṛtam = arranged by the king; rāmasya = Rāma; tu = but; parityāge = for abandoning; na = don’t; hetum = any justification; upalakṣaye = I see.
“This has been just whimsically arranged by the king as an independent lord. But I don’t see any justification for abandoning Rāma.
Lakṣmaṇa considered as follows: Rāma’s exile has come about simply by the arrangement of God, not by consulting the scriptures. There is no justification for abandoning Rāma. If one’s son possessed defects that were [justifiable] causes for abandoning him, then banishing him would be in line with the scriptures.
But if the king had acted whimsically, then why did he repent? Lakṣmaṇa states [the reason] in the next verse.