Shloka 2.75.23
अयोध्याकाण्डे पञ्चसप्ततितमः सर्गः (Sarga 75: Bharata and Kausalya—Reproach, Oaths, and Reconciliation)
कारयित्वा महत्कर्म भर्ता भृत्यमनर्थकम्।अधर्मो योऽस्य सोऽस्यास्तु यस्याऽर्योऽनुमतेगतः।।।।
kārayitvā mahat karma bhartā bhṛtyam anarthakam |
adharmo yo 'sya sa 'syāstu yasyāryo 'numate gataḥ ||
May the blame of unrighteousness fall upon the one by whose counsel my noble brother was sent away—like a master who makes a servant do heavy work without any due recompense.
May the one who counselled the exile of my esteemed brother acquire the demerit of unrighteousness in the same way as a master who gets a difficult work done by a servant without remuneration.
Exploitation is adharma: compelling another to bear hardship without rightful compensation parallels the moral wrong of unjustly sending away a righteous person.
Bharata, shocked by Rāma’s exile, condemns the counsel that led to it and frames it as a moral transgression through vivid analogies.
Bharata’s integrity and devotion to dharma—he refuses to benefit from injustice and openly denounces unrighteous means.