Shloka 2.14.61
सत्यपाशः — Kaikeyi’s Demand and the Noose of the King’s Promise
यदा वक्तुं स्वयं दैन्यान्न शशाक महीपतिः।।।।तदा सुमन्त्रं मन्त्रज्ञा कैकेयी प्रत्युवाच ह।
yadā vaktuṃ svayaṃ dainyān na śaśāka mahīpatiḥ | tadā sumantraṃ mantrajñā kaikeyī pratyuvāca ha ||
When, in his wretchedness, the lord of the earth could not speak for himself, then Kaikeyī—skilled in counsel—answered Sumantra.
When the king himself in that wretched state was not able to speak to Sumantra, crafty Kaikeyi said to him in reply:
The verse warns how power can shift when rightful authority is incapacitated; dharma requires vigilance so that counsel and speech serve truth rather than manipulation.
Daśaratha, overcome by grief, cannot respond; Kaikeyī steps in and speaks to Sumantra.
Kaikeyī’s strategic agency (mantrajñā) is emphasized—presented as skill in counsel, though the broader episode frames it with moral ambiguity.