Shloka 2.7.30
मन्थराप्रवेशः — Manthara Observes Ayodhya and Incites Kaikeyi
सा प्राप्तकालं कैकेयि क्षिप्रं कुरु हितं तव।त्रायस्व पुत्रमात्मानं मां च विस्मयदर्शने।।।।
sā prāptakālaṃ kaikeyi kṣipraṃ kuru hitaṃ tava |
trāyasva putram ātmānaṃ māṃ ca vismayadarśane || 2.7.30 ||
O Kaikeyī, the time has come—act swiftly for your own advantage. Save your son, yourself, and me as well, O woman of bewildered vision.
O enchanting-eyed Kaikeyi, that appropriate time has come. Act quickly for your own well-being. Save yourself, your son and me too.
The verse illustrates a deviation from dharma: urgency is used to pressure decision-making toward self-interest rather than truth, fairness, and the kingdom’s rightful order.
Mantharā presses Kaikeyī to act immediately, implying that the coronation momentum must be countered before it becomes irreversible.
Not virtue but a vice: Mantharā’s manipulative cunning—framing private gain as “welfare” and inducing fear of loss.