Valmiki Ramayana 2.35.33: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 35, Shloka 33
सुमन्त्रस्य कैकेयी-निन्दा
Sumantra’s Reproof of Kaikeyi in the Royal Assembly
Spoken by Sumantra to KaikeyiSetting: Ayodhya palace (decision-point before exile)Places named: Ayodhya, forest (vana)Impending departure to forest (exile)
परिवादो हि ते देवि महाल्लोके चरिष्यति ।
यदि रामो वनं याति विहाय पितरं नृपम् ॥३३॥
parivādo hi te devi mahāl loke cariṣyati |
yadi rāmo vanaṃ yāti vihāya pitaraṃ nṛpam ||33||
O Devī, wenn Rama in den Wald geht und seinen Vater, den König, zurücklässt, wird sich in der Welt ein großer öffentlicher Tadel verbreiten—gegen dich gerichtet.
Sandhi Notes
- महाल्लोके = महान् + लोके
- रामो = रामः (visarga sandhi)
- पितरं नृपम् = father, the king (apposition)
O Devi, if Rama goes to the forest leaving his father, the king, you will be squarely blamed by the people of the world.
The teaching
Adharma in the household of rulers becomes public suffering: decisions that rupture filial duty invite lasting reproach and moral fallout.
Duties in tension
- Kaikeyi’s boon-driven agenda vs duty to preserve filial harmony and royal reputation
- Rama’s filial duty to father vs forced duty of exile (as framed by the crisis)
- Ethical theme
- Kula-dharma / social ethics (loka-maryādā)
- How it resolves
- Appeal to social-ethical consequence (apavāda)
For your practice
Reflection on consequences of actions (karma) and guarding against choices that harm elders and social trust; cultivating humility before loka-maryādā.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Bhayanaka (fear), with Karuna (compassion)
- Mood
- Foreboding, shaming, anxious
Themes
- Dharma
- Satya
- Rajadharma
- Ethics
- Maryada
- Itihasa
Social consequence as a form of karma-phala in the empirical realm; actions driven by desire generate suffering and loss of honor (yaśas) which is part of worldly bondage.
Implicit contrast between true renunciation and forced exile; the 'forest' can be āśrama of tapas, but here becomes a sign of adharma-induced suffering.
- Sumantra and Kaikeyi
- Retainer warning queen about public blame and moral consequence (warning)
- Rama and Dasharatha
- Son abandoning father (as feared scenario) (tragic)
- Rama and Forest
- Exile/renunciation setting implied (austere)
Mahābhārata: themes of apavāda (public blame) following adharma in royal households; Rāmcaritmānas, Ayodhyākāṇḍ: लोक-निंदा and Kaikeyi’s infamy when Rama is sent to the forest
Dharmaśāstra motif: reputation (yaśas/apavāda) as a moral-social regulator
Ayodhyākāṇḍ: ensuing scenes of Rama’s departure and the city’s lament, validating the spread of reproach and sorrow
Anuṣṭup (Śloka)
Solemn
Lowered (manda) tone on "परिवादो" and "वनं याति" to convey dread; firm nyāsa on "ते" / "देवि" to mark direct address.
FAQs
Dharma here stresses responsibility for consequences: causing a righteous son to abandon his duty to his father-king invites public censure and moral blame.
Sumantra warns Kaikeyi that if Rama is forced into forest-exile while Dasaratha lives, the world will condemn her.
Rama’s filial duty (pitṛ-bhakti) is implied as a norm; the verse highlights the social and moral weight of protecting that duty.
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