Shloka 2.8.30
मन्थराकैकेयीसंवादः — Mantharā’s Counsel to Kaikeyī (Ayodhyā’s Succession Alarm)
श्रूयते हि द्रुमः कश्चिच्छेत्तव्यो वनजीविभिः।सन्निकर्षादिषीकाभिर्मोचितः परमाद्भयात्।।2.8.30।।
śrūyate hi drumaḥ kaś cic chettavyo vanajīvibhiḥ |
sannikarṣād iṣīkābhir mocitaḥ paramād bhayāt ||2.8.30||
It is heard that a certain tree, marked to be felled by the forest-dwellers, is freed from great peril because thorny iṣīkā grass grows close about it.
It is said that a tree intended to be cut down by those living on the forest is let off due to entanglement of a kind of grass known as Ishika (thorny bushes) growing in its vicinity. (If Bharata had been at Ayodhya now, Dasaratha himself would have helped him.
It illustrates how association can confer protection; ethically, it cautions that social proximity can shield or endanger—hence one must choose alliances with discernment and truth.
Mantharā uses a proverb-like simile to argue that being near powerful protectors can avert danger—implying Bharata’s absence from Ayodhyā removes such protection.
Practical wisdom (nīti) is foregrounded, though employed here to drive suspicion rather than reconciliation.