Shloka 2.75.37
अयोध्याकाण्डे पञ्चसप्ततितमः सर्गः (Sarga 75: Bharata and Kausalya—Reproach, Oaths, and Reconciliation)
राजस्त्रीबालवृद्धानां वधे यत्पापमुच्यते।भृत्यत्यागे च यत्पापं तत्पापं प्रतिपद्यताम्।।।।
rājastrībālavṛddhānāṃ vadhe yat pāpam ucyate | bhṛtyatyāge ca yat pāpaṃ tat pāpaṃ pratipadyatām ||
May the man by whose consent my noble brother was exiled incur whatever sin the scriptures declare for killing a king, a woman, children, and the aged—and whatever sin there is in abandoning dependents.
May the one who counselled the exile of my esteemed brother acquire the same sin as one acquires for murdering a king, a woman, children and the aged and deserting dependents!
Dharma prioritizes protection of the vulnerable and fidelity to duty; harming the righteous and abandoning dependents is equated with the gravest social sins.
Bharata invokes recognized scriptural categories of sin to measure the moral weight of causing Rāma’s exile.
Bharata’s dharmic discernment: he evaluates actions by their impact on social order and the helpless.