Shloka 2.73.19
भरतस्य कैकेय्याः प्रति धिक्कारः — Bharata’s Rebuke of Kaikeyi and Affirmation of Ikshvaku Royal Dharma
उत्पन्नातु कथं बुद्धिस्तवेयं पापदर्शिनि।साधुचारित्रविभ्रष्टे पूर्वेषां नो विगर्हिता।।।।
na me vikāṅkṣā jāyeta tyaktuṃ tvāṃ pāpaniścayām |
yadi rāmasya nāvekṣā tvayi syān mātṛvat sadā ||
Had Rāma not always regarded you as a mother, I would have no hesitation in abandoning you—one fixed in sinful resolve.
O woman of sinful thoughts fallen from virtuous conduct, how did you entertain this thought reproachable to our ancestors?
Even when wronged, one must uphold maryādā: Bharata restrains himself from rejecting Kaikeyī solely because Rāma’s dharma treats her with maternal reverence.
Bharata condemns Kaikeyī’s role in the exile but explains he will not cast her off because Rāma has always honored her as a mother.
Self-control and adherence to propriety (maryādā) grounded in Rāma’s example.