कथं तेषां कुले जातः क्षत्रियाणां महात्मनाम्।
सर्ववेदविदर्थज्ञो धर्मे न कुरुते मनः।
स्त्रीनिमित्तं न ते वैरं क्षेत्रजं वाक्यजं न ते॥
kathaṁ teṣāṁ kule jātaḥ kṣatriyāṇāṁ mahātmanām
sarva-veda-vid arthajño dharme na kurute manaḥ
strī-nimittaṁ na te vairaṁ kṣetrajaṁ vākyajaṁ na te
katham = how is it that; teṣām1 kule = in the dynasty; jātaḥ = you have taken birth; kṣatriyāṇām = of kṣatriyas; mahā-ātmanām = who were great souls; sarva-veda-vit = you have studied all the Vedas; arthajñaḥ = you are experienced; dharme = to dharma; na kurute = is not attached; manaḥ = mind; strī-nimittam = on account of women; na = no; te = you had; vairam = animosity [with my son]; kṣetrajam = land; vākyajam na = or argument; te = your.
You have taken birth in the dynasty of kṣatriyas who were great souls. You have studied all the Vedas. You are experienced. How is it that your mind is not attached to dharma? You had no animosity [with my son] on account of women, land or argument.1
1 Technical note: teṣām kṣatriyāṇām.
1 It would not have been possible for Daśaratha to have become inimical to the young ascetic on account of women because as an ascetic he was not interested in them—he had already given up both sinful activities and pious activities of enjoyment in this world. Nor did the king and the ascetic have any dispute about any property. And they had not been involved in any argument that could have fueled king’s fury, inciting him to shoot an arrow at him and kill him. It was already noted that the young ascetic had seen the king earlier when he used to come to the banks of the Sarayū for hunting, and that he had recognized him to be the unintentional cause of his death. It can be presumed that the elderly sage also knew about Prince Daśaratha and that his son and the prince had no history of a quarrel over anything.