Shloka 2.73.11
भरतस्य कैकेय्याः प्रति धिक्कारः — Bharata’s Rebuke of Kaikeyi and Affirmation of Ikshvaku Royal Dharma
तस्याः पुत्रं कृताऽत्मानं चीरवल्कलवाससम्।प्रस्थाप्य वनवासाय कथं पापे न शोचसि।।।।
tasyāḥ putraṃ kṛtātmānaṃ cīra-valkala-vāsasam | prasthāpya vana-vāsāya kathaṃ pāpe na śocasi || 2.73.11 ||
After sending her son—pure in self-discipline—clad in bark and rags to dwell in the forest, how is it, O sinful woman, that you do not grieve in remorse?
You have forced Kausalya's son, so pure in mind, to wear garments made of bark and dwell in the forest. Do you not feel remorse for it, O perverse wretch?
Dharma demands accountability and remorse after causing suffering to the righteous; the absence of śoka (repentant grief) is portrayed as moral blindness.
Bharata confronts Kaikeyī about the harsh consequences imposed on Rāma—ascetic dress and forest exile.
Rāma’s self-mastery (kṛtātmā) and Bharata’s moral clarity in defending righteousness.