Shloka 2.74.8
भरतस्य कैकेयी-गर्हा तथा सुरभि-दृष्टान्तः (Bharata’s Reproach of Kaikeyi and the Surabhi Exemplum)
कौसल्या च सुमित्रा च याश्चान्या मम मातरः।दुःखेन महताऽविष्टास्त्वां प्राप्य कुलदूषिणीम्।।।।
kausalyā ca sumitrā ca yāś cānyā mama mātaraḥ |
duḥkhena mahatāviṣṭās tvāṃ prāpya kuladūṣiṇīm ||
Kauśalyā, Sumitrā, and my other mothers are overwhelmed by immense sorrow, having to endure you—one who has brought ruin upon the royal line.
As you have vitiated the race, my mothers Kausalya and Sumitra are overwhelmed with great sorrow.
Adharma fractures the family system that sustains dharma; wrongdoing by one can inflict suffering on the innocent and destabilize the lineage’s moral order.
Bharata points to the grief of the other queens, emphasizing that Kaikeyī’s act has harmed the entire household.
Compassion and accountability: Bharata centers the suffering of others rather than personal advantage.