Valmiki Ramayana 1.1.21-22: Bala Kanda, Sarga 1, Shlokas 21-22
श्रीमद्रामायणकथासङ्क्षेपः / The Ramayana in Synopsis
Narada’s Summary to Valmiki
तस्याभिषेकसम्भारान्दृष्ट्वा भार्याऽथ कैकयी ॥२१॥
पूर्वं दत्तवरा देवी वरमेनमयाचत ।
विवासनं च रामस्य भरतस्याभिषेचनम् ॥२२॥
tasyābhiṣeka-sambhārān dṛṣṭvā bhāryā ’tha kaikeyī ||21||
pūrvaṃ dattavarā devī varam enam ayācata |
vivāsanaṃ ca rāmasya bharatasya abhiṣecanam ||22||
जब कैकेयी ने राज्याभिषेक की तैयारी देखी, तो उसने अपना पुराना हक याद कर लिया। राजा ने उसे पहले प्रॉमिस किया था कि दो बात माँग सकती है। अब उसने क्लियर कर दिया, राम को वनवास भेजो और भरत को राजा बना दो।
Thereafter, having seen the preparations for installation of Rama, queen Kaikeyi who had been promised earlier with boons by Dasaratha demanded of him the exile of Rama and enthronement of Bharata.
FAQs
The verse foregrounds the moral tension between personal desire and righteous duty: boons and promises create binding obligations, and their misuse can lead to adharma and suffering.
It describes Kaikeyī’s demand—Rāma’s exile and Bharata’s coronation—made upon seeing preparations for the consecration, recalling the earlier granting of boons.
Implicitly, the virtue at stake is satya (truthfulness/keeping one’s word), since the requested boon relies on the binding force of an earlier promise.
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