Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 35, Shloka 15
सुमन्त्रस्य कैकेयी-निन्दा
Sumantra’s Reproof of Kaikeyi in the Royal Assembly
महाब्रह्मर्षिसृष्टाः वा ज्वलन्तो भीमदर्शनाः।धिग्वाग्दण्डा न हिंसन्ति रामप्रव्राजने स्थिताम्।।2.35.15।।
mahābrahmarṣi-sṛṣṭā vā jvalanto bhīma-darśanāḥ | dhig-vāg-daṇḍā na hiṃsanti rāma-pravrājane sthitām ||2.35.15||
Sungguh mengherankan: meski engkau teguh berdiri pada pengasingan Rama, engkau tidak juga dihantam oleh ‘hukuman kata’ yang menyala dan mengerikan—teriakan “Celaka! Malu!”—seakan dilepaskan oleh para brahmarṣi agung.
By axing a mango tree and growing a nimba in its place and sprinkling it with milk one does not get sweet fruit.
FAQs
Public and moral reproach functions as a dharmic check on wrongdoing: when one violates righteousness—here, unjust exile—one should feel the ‘burn’ of conscience and societal censure.
Sumantra condemns Kaikeyi’s determination to exile Rama and expresses disbelief that she remains unscathed by the moral force of condemnation.
Moral accountability: Sumantra embodies the duty to speak truth to power when adharma is being enacted.