Bhagavatham Stories

Dasharatha, the father of Rama, inherits not merely a throne but a profound spiritual legacy. His name—"Dasha" (ten) and "ratha" (chariot)—suggests a complete being, one whose ten senses are perfectly controlled and harmonized. Yet his life reveals that even such a king, with all his spiritual preparation, must face tests that shake him to his core.

Dasharatha becomes king during a period of relative peace and prosperity. Unlike his ancestors who had to conquer and establish dharmic order through active campaigns, Dasharatha inherits a stable kingdom. This allows him to devote himself more fully to the spiritual dimensions of kingship. He performs great sacrifices (yajnas), studies sacred texts, and maintains a court that becomes a beacon of wisdom and culture.

His greatest desire, however, is not territorial expansion or material wealth but the birth of a son. In his case, this is not mere ego-driven succession planning but a spiritual aspiration. Dasharatha understands that he is meant to father an incarnation of Vishnu—a divine being who will restore dharma during a critical age. Yet for years, no son is born to him.

Seeking divine intervention, Dasharatha performs the Putrakameshti Yajna, a sacrifice specifically designed to invoke the blessing of divine offspring. The sacrifice is conducted with perfect rituals, perfect intention, and perfect faith. The result is miraculous: not one son but four, born to his three wives. Rama to Kaushalya, Bharata to Kaikeyi, and Lakshmana and Shatrughna to Sumitra.

Yet Canto 9 uses this joy to introduce a complex teaching about the relationship between desire, fulfillment, and the consequences that follow. Dasharatha's desire for sons, though spiritually motivated, was still a desire. In the cosmic accounting system, every action generates consequences. The yajna fulfills his desire, but it also sets in motion events that will eventually bring him profound suffering.

The turning point comes when Dasharatha, now aged and wishing to retire from active kingship, decides to crown his eldest son Rama. This is a perfect moment—Rama is fully grown, trained in all the arts and sciences, beloved by all subjects. Dasharatha has planned a grand coronation ceremony, and all arrangements are made.

But then Kaikeyi, the youngest queen (and Bharata's mother), reminds Dasharatha of two boons he had granted her years earlier, unused. In a moment of passion, Dasharatha had promised to grant her any two wishes. Now, instigated by her maidservant Manthara, Kaikeyi asks that these boons be honored: first, that Bharata be crowned king instead of Rama; second, that Rama be exiled to the forest for fourteen years.

This is where Dasharatha's dharma becomes exquisitely tested. He had given a sacred promise. To break it would be to violate the most fundamental principle of a king's word being inviolable. Yet honoring it means exiling his beloved eldest son and denying the kingdom its rightful heir. For a father, it would mean unbearable separation from the son he has loved most deeply.

The text describes Dasharatha's inner turmoil in detail. He tries to dissuade Kaikeyi, appealing to her sense of justice and compassion. He offers her anything else—wealth, kingdoms, power—anything but this request. Yet Kaikeyi remains firm. She does not do this out of personal malice toward Rama but has been manipulated into believing it is necessary for Bharata's welfare.

What makes this situation so profound is that there is no "right" answer in the conventional sense. Both options—honoring the promise and banishing Rama, or breaking the promise to save his son—involve violation of dharma. Dasharatha must choose between two forms of betrayal.

In the end, Dasharatha chooses to honor his word. He calls Rama and, with a breaking heart, informs him of the exile. The text emphasizes that this decision is not easy or painless but is undertaken because the dharma of truth and keeping one's word is absolute. A king's word is the foundation of all order; without it, dharma itself collapses.

Rama accepts the exile with equanimity, understanding the principles at stake. But Dasharatha, having made the decision, is utterly shattered. The separation from Rama becomes unbearable. The king who had ruled wisely, who had conquered his senses, who had sacrificed greatly—this king's heart simply breaks. He dies of grief, unable to survive the exile of his son.

Here is the profound teaching Canto 9 extracts from this tragedy: even the most spiritually advanced person is subject to the consequences of their actions and desires. Dasharatha's desire for sons, though fulfilled, resulted in complications he could not anticipate. His moment of passion in granting Kaikeyi boons set in motion events that led to his death.

Yet the text also suggests something more subtle. Dasharatha's death, appearing tragic on the surface, serves a cosmic purpose. His grief and his acceptance of the truth, even when it costs him his life, become a teaching for all beings. He demonstrates that dharma is not negotiable, not even for personal survival. The commitment to truth is worth dying for.

Furthermore, from a karmic perspective, Dasharatha's death resolves certain accounts. The sage Vishvamitra had once cursed Dasharatha, and this curse finds its expression through the exile of Rama and the king's consequent grief. The text suggests that Dasharatha's acceptance of this suffering was itself the expiation of past karma.

Dasharatha's life teaches several vital lessons for the modern spiritual seeker. First, it shows that spiritual advancement does not exempt one from suffering but may actually intensify it, as a more developed consciousness is capable of feeling more deeply. Second, it reveals that truth and justice sometimes demand personal sacrifice. Third, it demonstrates that our desires, even when seemingly good, can have consequences we cannot foresee.

There is also a teaching about the relationship between a parent and child. Dasharatha's love for Rama is not possessive but is willing to let Rama go for the sake of dharma. He does not use his position as king or father to force Rama to stay. He honors Rama's acceptance of exile and Rama's commitment to truth over comfort.

In the end, Dasharatha's death becomes a doorway to understanding. He passes away having kept his word, having honored the sacred obligation of a king. His final moments are not wasted in bitterness but in spiritual reflection. The kingdom moves forward, Rama's exile unfolds as ordained, and the entire sequence of events that will constitute the great epic of the Ramayana is set in motion.

Canto 9 thus presents Dasharatha not as a failure but as a complete human being—powerful yet vulnerable, wise yet capable of being tested to his breaking point, devoted to dharma even when dharma demands everything he holds dear. His is the path of the householder-king who achieves spiritual perfection not through renunciation but through the conscious sacrifice of personal desires for the sake of larger truths.