Shloka 2.9.45
मन्थराप्रेरणा—वरद्वय-स्मरणं च (Manthara’s Provocation and the Recalling of Two Boons)
आसन्याश्शम्बरे मायास्सहस्रमसुराधिपे।।।।सर्वास्त्वयि निविष्टास्ता भूयश्चान्यास्सहस्रशः।
hantedānīṃ pravakṣyāmi kaikeyi śrūyatāṃ ca me |
yathā te bharato rājyaṃ putraḥ prāpsyati kevalam ||
Very well—now I shall tell you, O Kaikeyī. Listen to me: how your son Bharata alone will obtain the kingship.
In you reside a thousand deceitful means more than all the thousand mayas (tricks) of Sambara, king of the asuras, was capable of.
The verse shows a deliberate move toward adharma: ambition and favoritism are placed above rightful succession and family duty, warning how persuasion can be used to undermine dharma.
Mantharā begins outlining to Kaikeyī a plan to secure the throne exclusively for Bharata, setting the stage for Kaikeyī’s demands and Rāma’s exile.
Not virtue but a vice is highlighted—Mantharā’s cunning and manipulative intent, contrasting with the Ramayana’s ideal of truthful, dharmic counsel.