Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 35, Shloka 6
सुमन्त्रस्य कैकेयी-निन्दा
Sumantra’s Reproof of Kaikeyi in the Royal Assembly
पतिघ्नीं त्वामहं मन्ये कुलघ्नीमपि चान्ततः।।2.35.6।।यन्महेन्द्रमिवाजय्यं दुष्प्रकम्प्यमिवाचलम्।महोदधिमिवाक्षोभ्यं सन्तापयसि कर्मभिः।।2.35.7।।
pati-ghnīṃ tvām ahaṃ manye kula-ghnīm api cāntataḥ ||2.35.6||
yan mahendram ivājayyaṃ duṣprakampyam ivācalam | mahodadhim ivākṣobhyaṃ santāpayasi karmabhiḥ ||2.35.7||
હું તને પતિઘ્ની માનું છું—અને અંતે પોતાના કુલનો પણ નાશ કરનારી; કારણ કે તારા કર્મોથી તું દશરથને સંતાપ આપે છે, જે મહેન્દ્ર સમ અજેય, અચલ પર્વત સમ અડગ અને મહાસાગર સમ અક્ષોભ્ય છે.
King Dasaratha is invincible like Indra, unshakeable like a mountain and unperturbable like the ocean. By causing grief to him through your action I feel you are killing your husband (inch by inch). I think you are ultimately destroying your own race.
FAQs
To harm a righteous elder/king through manipulative actions is treated as a form of moral violence with consequences for one’s family line and social order.
Sumantra escalates from persuasion to outright denunciation, accusing Kaikeyi of destroying her husband and lineage by tormenting Dasaratha.
Dasaratha’s steadfastness is praised via similes (Indra, mountain, ocean), underscoring the unnaturalness of the suffering imposed on him.