Shloka 2.43.17
कौशल्याविलापः — Kausalya’s Lament and the Vision of Rama’s Return
निस्संशयं मया मन्ये पुरा वीर कदर्यया।पातुकामेषु वत्सेषु मातृ़णां शातितास्स्तनाः।।।।
rāghave naraśārdūle viṣam uptvā ahijihmagā |
vicariṣyati kaikeyī nirmukteva hi pannagī ||
Crooked as a serpent, Kaikeyī has poured her poison upon Rāghava, the tiger among men; and now, like a she-serpent that has cast off its slough, she will roam about unrestrained.
O valiant one, in my previous birth I must have undoubtedly hacked off the udders of cows when the calves were thirsting for milk from their mothers.
The verse warns that adharma—deceit and malice within the household—spreads like poison. Dharma in a royal family requires restraint, truthfulness, and protection of the innocent, not the unleashing of destructive intent.
After Kaikeyi’s boons have compelled Dasharatha to exile Rama, Kausalya laments to Dasharatha, portraying Kaikeyi as a serpent that has struck and now moves freely.
By contrast to Kaikeyi’s ‘crookedness,’ Rama’s implied virtue is steadiness and righteousness—he is the ‘tiger among men’ who receives undeserved harm yet remains aligned with dharma.