Shloka 2.35.19
सुमन्त्रस्य कैकेयी-निन्दा (Sumantra’s Reproof of Kaikeyi in the Royal Assembly)
तव मातुरसद्ग्राहं विद्मः पूर्वं यथाश्रुतम्।पितुस्ते वरदः कश्चिद्ददौ वरमनुत्तमम्।।2.35.18।।सर्वभूतरुतं तस्मात्संजज्ञे वसुधाधिपः। तेन तिर्यग्गतानां च भूतानां विदितं वचः।।2.35.19।।
tava mātur asad-grāhaṃ vidmaḥ pūrvaṃ yathāśrutam |
pitus te varadaḥ kaścid dadau varam anuttamam ||2.35.18||
sarva-bhūta-rutaṃ tasmāt saṃjajñe vasudhādhipaḥ |
tenā tiryag-gatānāṃ ca bhūtānāṃ viditaṃ vacaḥ ||2.35.19||
We have heard from earlier times of your mother’s perverse obstinacy. Once, a certain giver of boons granted your father an unsurpassed boon; by it the lord of the earth came to understand the cries of all beings, and thus the speech of creatures that move crosswise as well.
We have heard in the past about the evil (stubborn) nature of your mother. Once a bestower of boons conferred an extraordinary boon on your father by virtue of which he could tell the sounds of all living beings. He also understood the language of all crookedly moving creatures.
Dharma includes accountability across generations: patterns of unethical stubbornness (asad-grāha) are remembered and judged; truth (satya) about character and consequences is asserted as a corrective.
Sumantra introduces a background tale about Kaikeyi’s maternal influence and a boon granted to her father, setting up a moral critique of Kaikeyi’s present resolve.
Commitment to truth-telling (satya-vacana): Sumantra uses remembered tradition and narrative precedent to confront wrongdoing.