Valmiki Ramayana 2.35.25: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 35, Shloka 25
सुमन्त्रस्य कैकेयी-निन्दा
Sumantra’s Reproof of Kaikeyi in the Royal Assembly
Setting: Ayodhyā (implied royal setting)
ततः स्स वरदः साधुराजानं प्रत्यभाषत ।
म्रियतां ध्वंसतां वेयं मा कृथास्त्वं महीपते ॥२५॥
tataḥ sa varadaḥ sādhu rājānaṁ pratyabhāṣata |
mriyatāṁ dhvaṁsatāṁ vā iyaṁ mā kṛthās tvaṁ mahīpate ||25||
फिर वो वरद देने वाले ने राजा से कहा। इस औरत को मरने दो, या खुद खत्म हो जाए। पर तू, राजा, यह बात किसी को मत बता।
Sandhi Notes
- स्स = सः (visarga before s- in recitation)
- वेयं = वा + इयम्
- कृथास्त्वं = कृथाः + त्वम्
That holy man who had granted the boon (to the king) had said, 'Let her die or destroy herself, but do not disclose (the cause of your laughter).
The teaching
Boons and private counsels can bind a king into adharma; secrecy used to protect desire becomes a seed of ruin.
Duties in tension
- Rāja-dharma: transparency and protection of subjects vs. personal secrecy
- Satya-dharma (truthfulness) vs. keeping a dangerous counsel/boon-condition
- Pati-dharma (marital duty) vs. moral duty to prevent adharma
- Ethical theme
- Speech-ethics; misuse of boons; governance integrity
- How it resolves
- Coercive counsel (fear-based injunction)
For your practice
Vāk-saṃyama (discipline of speech) and discernment before granting/accepting boons; vigilance against fear-driven secrecy.
Mood and themes
- Rasa
- Bhayanaka (fear), with Karuna (compassion)
- Mood
- Threatening, secretive, fatalistic
Themes
- Ethics
- Dharma
- Satya
Vāk (speech) as a power that binds; restraint of speech (vāk-niyama) becomes a fateful upādhi shaping action.
Taittirīya/Chāndogya themes of satya-vākya vs. concealment: speech as moral force; deviation from satya precipitates suffering.
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.12 (Daśaratha bound by boons to Kaikeyī); Mahābhārata: Śānti/Anuśāsana—warnings on rash boons and binding speech (general parallel)
Vedic notion of satya and ṛta as sustaining order; breach/withholding disturbs dharma
Ayodhyākāṇḍa: Daśaratha’s later anguish and secrecy around Kaikeyī’s demands (2.12–2.14)
Anuṣṭup (śloka)
Commanding
Mandra-gambhīra (low, grave)
FAQs
A tension between truth and secrecy: the verse portrays an instruction to conceal a cause, raising questions about when silence is chosen over disclosure.
In the recalled episode, the boon-giver responds to the king, permitting a grim outcome for the woman but commanding the king not to reveal the matter.
Authority of ascetic speech and the king’s restraint/obedience to a directive, even when emotionally costly.
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