Shloka 2.8.23
मन्थराकैकेयीसंवादः — Mantharā’s Counsel to Kaikeyī (Ayodhyā’s Succession Alarm)
न हि राज्ञस्सुता स्सर्वे राज्ये तिष्ठन्ति भामिनि।स्थाप्यमानेषु सर्वेषु सुमहाननयो भवेत्।।2.8.23।।
na hi rājñaḥ sutāḥ sarve rājye tiṣṭhanti bhāmini | sthāpyamāneṣu sarveṣu sumahān anayo bhavet || 2.8.23 ||
Not all the king’s sons can hold the throne, O passionate lady; if all were installed as rulers, there would be immense disorder.
O lovely lady, not all the sons of the king will inherit the kingdom. If all of them are installed as kings, there will be great disorder.
Dharma in governance emphasizes orderly succession and avoidance of factional conflict; however, the verse is used rhetorically to justify exclusion rather than fairness.
Mantharā argues that only one son can be king, framing succession as a zero-sum contest to heighten Kaikeyī’s urgency.
The political virtue invoked is stability (rājadharma of order), though Mantharā leverages it toward divisive ends.