तस्मिन्नतिसुखे काले धनुष्मानिषुमान्रथी।
व्यायामकृतसङ्कल्पः सरयूमन्वगां नदीम्॥
निपाने महिषं रात्रौ गजं वाभ्यागतं नदीम्।
अन्यं वा श्वापदं कञ्चिज्जिघांसुरजितेन्द्रियः॥
tasminn atisukhe kāle dhanuṣmān iṣumān rathī
vyāyāma-kṛta-saṅkalpaḥ sarayūm anvagāṁ nadīm
nipāne mahiṣaṁ rātrau gajaṁ vābhyāgataṁ nadīm
anyaṁ vā śvāpadaṁ kañcij jighāṁsur ajitendriyaḥ
tasmin = on that; atisukhe = very joyous; kāle = occasion; dhanuṣmān = I took up my bow; iṣumān = and arrow; rathī = and got onto a chariot; vyāyāma-kṛta-saṅkalpaḥ = I resolved that I would go for an exercise by hunting in sport; sarayūm = Sarayū; anvagām = and so reached; nadīm = to the river; nipāne = to drink water; mahiṣam = a wild buffalo; rātrau = that night; gajam = elephant; vā = or; abhyāgatam = that had come; nadīm = to the river; anyam vā = other; śvāpadam = wild beast; kañcit = any; jighāṁsuḥ = I decided to kill; ajita-indriyaḥ = with my senses out of control.
On that very joyous occasion, I took up my bow and arrows and got onto a chariot. I resolved that I would go for an exercise by hunting in sport that night and so reached the river Sarayū. With my senses out of control, I decided to kill a wild buffalo, elephant or any other wild beast that had come to the river to drink water.1
1 Here Daśaratha himself admits that in that pleasant environment, his senses went out of control and that he wanted to kill some ferocious beast while hunting in sport. Though kṣatriyas are allowed to do this—as it brings about safety to the forest-dwelling ascetics and provides a good training for warfare—it is extremely risky. Note that he was only interested in killing a wild beast, something that can cause great harm to forest-dwelling ascetics, not harmless animals. And still he got into deep trouble.