Canto 2: Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa ()Chapter 63: Daśaratha Remembering Killing a Sage’s Innocent SonText 2.63.12
Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 63: Daśaratha Remembering Killing a Sage’s Innocent Son
Text 2.63.12
तदिदं मेऽनुसंप्राप्तं देवि दुःखं स्वयं कृतम्।
संमोहादिह बालेन यथा स्याद्भक्षितं विषम्॥
tad idaṁ me ’nusaṁprāptaṁ devi duḥkhaṁ svayaṁ kṛtam
sammohād iha bālena yathā syād bhakṣitaṁ viṣam
tat idam = the following sinful act; me = committed by me; anusaṁprāptam = has become [a cause of distress for me now]; devi = O queen; duḥkham = a cause of distress [for him]; svayam kṛtam = brought upon myself; sammohāt = foolishly; iha = in this very life; bālena = by a young boy; yathā = just as; syāt = becomes; bhakṣitam = drunk; viṣam = the poison.
O queen, just as the poison foolishly drunk by a young boy becomes a cause of distress [for him] in this very life, the following sinful act committed by me has become [a cause of distress for me now].
The activity a man performs, whether auspicious or inauspicious, produces its result in another world or in another life [in this world]. But Daśaratha tells Kausalyā in this verse that because his activity was extremely [sinful], he has attained its result in this very life.
NOTE. Unless we work in dharma for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord alone, we will be bound by karmic reactions, as taught by the Lord Himself in the Bhagavad-gītā (3.9):
yajñārthāt karmaṇo ’nyatra
loko ’yaṁ karma-bandhanaḥ
“Work done as a sacrifice for Viṣṇu has to be performed; otherwise work causes bondage in this material world.”
In his purport to this verse, Prabhupāda remarks:
One has to work for the satisfaction of Viṣṇu. Any other work done in this material world will be a cause of bondage, for both good and evil work have their reactions, and any reaction binds the performer.