Shloka 2.9.64
मन्थराप्रेरणा—वरद्वय-स्मरणं च (Manthara’s Provocation and the Recalling of Two Boons)
अहं हि नैवास्तरणानि न स्रजोन चन्दनं नाञ्जनपानभोजनम्।न किञ्चिदिच्छामि न चेह जीवितंन चेदितो गच्छति राघवो वनम्।।।।
ahaṃ hi naivāstaraṇāni na srajo na candanaṃ nāñjana-pāna-bhojanam |
na kiñcid icchāmi na ceha jīvitaṃ
na ced ito gacchati rāghavo vanam ||
If Rāghava does not go from here to the forest, then I desire neither beds nor garlands, nor sandal paste, nor collyrium, nor drink and food—indeed, I desire nothing here, not even life itself.
If Rama does not go from here to the forest, I want neither a bed nor garlands nor sandalpaste nor unguents nor food nor water nor even life.
Kaikeyī frames her demand as non-negotiable: unless Rāma goes to the forest, she rejects all comforts and even life. This intensifies the pressure on Daśaratha to keep his earlier promise, making satya (keeping one’s word) the central ethical constraint.
The verse dramatizes a conflict of dharmas: personal desire and coercion versus the king’s duty to uphold truth and royal integrity. It sets the stage for Daśaratha’s anguish and Rāma’s later choice to protect dharma by honoring his father’s pledged word.