Shloka 2.74.7
भरतस्य कैकेयी-गर्हा तथा सुरभि-दृष्टान्तः (Bharata’s Reproach of Kaikeyi and the Surabhi Exemplum)
मातृरूपे ममामित्रे नृशंसे राज्यकामुके।न तेऽह मभिभाष्योऽस्मि दुर्वृत्ते पतिघातिनि।।।।
mātṛrūpe mamāmitre nṛśaṃse rājyakāmuke |
na te ’ham abhibhāṣyo ’smi durvṛtte patighātini ||
O enemy wearing a mother’s form—cruel, hungry for the kingdom, vile in conduct, slayer of your husband—I will not speak to you.
O cruel woman, O woman of vicious character! you are an enemy assuming a mother's form, lustful for kingdom. You are a murderess (of your husband) and I shall never speak to you.
Dharma includes recognizing and rejecting destructive greed and betrayal within the household; moral boundaries may require refusing association with grave wrongdoing.
In anger and grief, Bharata denounces Kaikeyī publicly, declaring her conduct anti-dharmic and severing speech/relationship.
Bharata’s integrity and uncompromising stance against injustice, even when the wrongdoer is his own mother.