Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 62: Kausalyā Pacifies Daśaratha
Text 2.62.1
एवं तु क्रुद्धया राजा राममात्रा सशोकया।
श्रावितः परुष वाक्यं चिन्तयामास दुःखितः॥
evaṁ tu kruddhayā rājā rāma-mātrā saśokayā
śrāvitaḥ paruṣaṁ vākyaṁ cintayām āsa duḥkhitaḥ
evam tu = about these; kruddhayā = angry; rājā = the king; rāma-mātrā = by the mother of Rāma; saśokayā = and distressed; śrāvitaḥ = spoken; paruṣam = harsh; vākyam = words; cintayām āsa = thought; duḥkhitaḥ = and became miserable.
The king thought about these harsh words spoken by the angry and distressed mother of Rāma and became miserable.
1 A lesson to learn from this episode: As long as we are under the clutches of passion, we tend to consider our great offenses to be factually minor, insignificant and justifiably forgivable errors.
The king thought, “She has spoken the truth. I and others have performed a great forbidden activity that has never been done before. What can I do now?”1