Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 8, Shloka 23
मन्थराकैकेयीसंवादः — Mantharā’s Counsel to Kaikeyī
Ayodhyā’s Succession Alarm
न हि राज्ञस्सुता स्सर्वे राज्ये तिष्ठन्ति भामिनि।स्थाप्यमानेषु सर्वेषु सुमहाननयो भवेत्।।2.8.23।।
na hi rājñaḥ sutāḥ sarve rājye tiṣṭhanti bhāmini | sthāpyamāneṣu sarveṣu sumahān anayo bhavet || 2.8.23 ||
हे भामिनि, राजा के सभी पुत्र राज्य पर नहीं बैठ सकते। यदि सबको ही शासक बनाना चाहें तो अत्यन्त बड़ा अनर्थ और अव्यवस्था हो जाएगी॥
O lovely lady, not all the sons of the king will inherit the kingdom. If all of them are installed as kings, there will be great disorder.
FAQs
Dharma in governance emphasizes orderly succession and avoidance of factional conflict; however, the verse is used rhetorically to justify exclusion rather than fairness.
Mantharā argues that only one son can be king, framing succession as a zero-sum contest to heighten Kaikeyī’s urgency.
The political virtue invoked is stability (rājadharma of order), though Mantharā leverages it toward divisive ends.