Shloka 2.7.19
मन्थराप्रवेशः — Manthara Observes Ayodhya and Incites Kaikeyi
सा विषण्णतरा भूत्वा कुब्जा तस्या हितैषिणी।विषादयन्ती प्रोवाच भेदयन्ती च राघवम्।।।।
mantharā tu vacaḥ śrutvā kaikeyyā madhurākṣaram | uvāca krodhasaṃyuktā vākyaṃ vākyaviśāradā ||
Hearing Kaikeyī’s sweetly spoken words, Mantharā—skilled in speech yet filled with anger—began to reply.
That hunchback feeling still more depressed in her (Kaikeyi's) interest and intending to cause in her despondency and distance Rama from her spoke out:
Speech is morally charged: rhetorical skill without truthfulness (satya) and goodwill becomes dangerous, showing why dharma demands restraint and right intention in counsel.
Kaikeyī speaks gently; Mantharā, though angry, prepares a calculated response, leveraging her verbal skill.
The verse spotlights communicative ability; ethically, it implies that true virtue is aligning speech-skill with truth and benevolence—not anger.