Valmiki Ramayana 2.39.7: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 39, Shloka 7
एकोनचत्वारिंशः सर्गः · Dasaratha’s Lament, Sumantra’s Commission, and Sita’s Vow of Marital Dharma
एकस्याः खलु कैकेय्याः कृतेऽयं क्लिश्यते जनः ।
स्वार्थे प्रयतमानायाः संश्रित्य निकृतिं त्विमाम् ॥७॥
ekasyāḥ khalu kaikeyyāḥ kṛte 'yaṃ kliśyate janaḥ |
svārthe prayatamānāyāḥ saṃśritya nikṛtiṃ tv imām ||7||
निश्चय ही, केवल कैकेयी के कारण यह समस्त जन दुःख भोग रहा है। अपने स्वार्थ के लिए प्रयत्न करती हुई उसने इस कपट का आश्रय लिया है॥
Only because of Kaikeyi who resorted to this deception in pursuit of selfish ends so many people are made to suffer.
FAQs
Condemnation of svārtha (selfishness) and nikṛti (deceit): private ambition that violates truth and harms the many is portrayed as adharma.
Daśaratha attributes the widespread misery in the palace to Kaikeyī’s self-serving plot that triggers Rāma’s exile.
Moral discernment—recognizing deceit as ethically corrosive and socially destructive.
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