Dasharatha Reveals Nothing but Ram's Name
Ayodhya Kanda, Doha 38
Doha 38 · Movement 2 of 2
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The king has not slept through the night. The reason for his suffering remains known only to the Lord who sees the hidden movement of every heart.
Dasharatha has spent the darkness repeating Ram, Ram, yet dawn finds him unable to disclose the secret pressing upon him.
The name reveals what explanation cannot. It tells Sumantra where the king's life rests without telling him what threatens it. Between oath and affection, Dasharatha has lost the power of ordinary speech, while invocation continues to rise from the place deeper than decision.
The king cannot utter the secret, but every repetition of Ram tells where his whole life lies.
Read the passage from the Manas
परी न राजहि नीद निसि हेतु जान जगदीसु। रामु रामु रटि भोरु किय कहइ न मरमु महीसु।।38।।
The king did not sleep all night; the Lord of the universe alone knows the reason. He spent the night repeating 'Rama, Rama,' and thus the dawn came, but the king reveals not the secret of his heart.