Shloka 2.74.33
भरतस्य कैकेयी-गर्हा तथा सुरभि-दृष्टान्तः (Bharata’s Reproach of Kaikeyi and the Surabhi Exemplum)
सा त्वमग्निं प्रविश वा स्वयं वा दण्डकान्विश।रज्जुं बधान वा कण्ठे न हि तेऽन्यत्परायणम्।।।।
na hy ahaṃ pāpa-saṅkalpe pāpe pāpaṃ tvayā kṛtam |
śakto dhārayituṃ paurair aśru-kaṇṭhair nirīkṣitaḥ ||
O evil-minded, wicked woman—watched by the citizens whose throats are choked with tears—I cannot bear the weight of the sin you have committed.
Jump into the fire or go to Dandaka forest or hang yourself. There is no other recourse for you.
Dharma in kingship includes moral and public accountability: wrongdoing in the royal house becomes a burden before the people, and the righteous cannot accept tainted authority.
Bharata, facing a grieving populace, rejects complicity in Kaikeyi’s actions and expresses inability to carry the stigma of her sin.
Conscience and shame before the people: Bharata values ethical legitimacy over political possession.