Valmiki Ramayana 2.100.18: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 100, Shloka 18

शततमः सर्गः · Rāma Questions Bharata on Rājadharma

Governance, Counsel, and Public Welfare

Spoken by Rama to BharataSetting: Chitrakuta region (Rama’s forest dwelling)

Devanagari script

कच्चिन्मन्त्रयसे नैकः कच्चिन्न बहुभिस्सह ।

कच्चित्ते मन्त्रितो मन्त्रो राष्ट्रं न परिधावति ॥१८॥

Recitation with translationValmiki Ramayana 2.100.18

Transliteration

kaccin mantrayase naikaḥ kaccin na bahubhiḥ saha |

kaccit te mantrito mantro rāṣṭraṃ na paridhāvati ||18||

Translation

क्या तुम अकेले में फैसला नहीं करते? और न ही बहुत लोगों के साथ बात करते? जब तुम कोई प्लान फिक्स कर लेते हो, क्या वो राज्य में फैलता नहीं? क्या वो सीक्रेट रहता है?

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Word by Word

• kaccit: I hope
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kaccit (अव्यय)
• Form: Interrogative/hope particle
• Role: Sentence particle

• mantrayase: you consult/plan
• Type: Verb
• Root: √mantr (धातु; denominative from mantra)
• Form: Laṭ (Present), Madhyama puruṣa, Ekavacana; Ātmanepada
• Role: Kriyā

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध)
• Role: Sentence particle

• ekaḥ: alone
• Type: Adjective
• Root: eka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; used adverbially with subject: 'alone'
• Role: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (adverbial qualifier)

• kaccit: I hope
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kaccit (अव्यय)
• Form: Interrogative/hope particle
• Role: Sentence particle

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle
• Role: Sentence particle

• bahubhiḥ: with many (people)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bahu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Tṛtīyā (Instrumental), Bahuvacana
• Role: Sahakāraka (सहकारक) with 'saha'

• saha: together with
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: saha (अव्यय)
• Form: Preposition-like indeclinable (सह) governing instrumental
• Role: Sahakāraka marker

• kaccit: I hope
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kaccit (अव्यय)
• Form: Interrogative/hope particle
• Role: Sentence particle

• te: your
• Type: Noun
• Root: yusmad (प्रातिपदिक; pronoun)
• Form: Ṣaṣṭhī (Genitive), Ekavacana
• Role: Sambandha (genitive)

• mantritaḥ: deliberated, decided
• Type: Verb
• Root: √mantr (धातु)
• Form: Kta (PPP) Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; qualifies 'mantraḥ': 'counsel that has been deliberated/decided'
• Role: Viśeṣaṇa of 'mantraḥ'

• mantraḥ: counsel/plan
• Type: Noun
• Root: mantra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana
• Role: Kartā (subject) of 'paridhāvati'

• rāṣṭram: the kingdom
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāṣṭra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napumsakaliṅga, Dvitīyā, Ekavacana
• Role: Karma (object) of 'paridhāvati' (metaphor: runs through the kingdom)

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle
• Role: Sentence particle

• paridhāvati: runs about/spreads around
• Type: Verb
• Root: pari-√dhāv (धातु)
• Form: Laṭ (Present), Prathama puruṣa, Ekavacana; Parasmaipada
• Role: Kriyā

Sandhi Notes

• kaccinmantrayase → kaccit mantrayase
• naikaḥ → na ekaḥ
• bahubhissaha → bahubhiḥ saha
• kaccittē → kaccit te

Context

I hope you neither decide alone nor discuss with many. I trust a decision once made by you is not leaked in the kingdom.

The teaching

Effective kingship requires balanced consultation—neither solitary arbitrariness nor indiscriminate disclosure—and strict containment of settled policy.

Ethical theme

Rajadharma / niti

For your practice

Practice of disciplined speech (mauna/mitabhāṣa) and discernment in counsel; cultivate confidentiality and right timing in action.

Mood and themes

Rasa

Shanta (peace), with Vira (heroism)

Mood

Statesmanlike, cautious, measured

Themes

• Dharma
• Ethics
• Rajadharma
• Statecraft
• Satya

Symbolism

Relationships

Cross references

Meter and recitation

Characters & Entities

• Rāma
• Bharata
• rāṣṭra (kingdom/state)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

Rajadharma requires balanced counsel—neither autocratic isolation nor indiscriminate consultation—and the ethical restraint to protect sensitive decisions from becoming public rumor that can harm the state.

What is the narrative situation?

After meeting Bharata, Rāma questions him about his governance, offering practical tests of good kingship—how he consults and whether decisions remain secure.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Prudence (nīti) and self-control: the ruler must seek wise counsel appropriately and maintain confidentiality for the welfare of the kingdom.