Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 8, Shloka 33
मन्थराकैकेयीसंवादः — Mantharā’s Counsel to Kaikeyī
Ayodhyā’s Succession Alarm
तस्माद्राजगृहादेव वनं गच्छतु ते सुतः।एतद्धि रोचते मह्यं भृशं चापि हितं तव।।2.8.33।।
tasmād rājagṛhād eva vanaṃ gacchatu te sutaḥ |
etad dhi rocate mahyaṃ bhṛśaṃ cāpi hitaṃ tava ||2.8.33||
Karena itu, biarlah putramu berangkat ke hutan langsung dari Rājagṛha. Inilah yang berkenan di hatiku, dan sungguh amat bermanfaat bagimu pula.
Therefore let your son go to the forest straight from his uncle's palace only. That alone will please me. For you also this is highly beneficial.
FAQs
It shows how counsel can be presented as ‘beneficial’ while being ethically inverted; dharma requires advice grounded in truth and welfare (hita) for all, not self-serving intrigue.
Mantharā proposes a drastic ‘solution’—sending Bharata to the forest—framing it as protection, while actually steering Kaikeyī toward extreme measures and factional outcomes.
The implied virtue is responsible counsel (mantra) aligned with satya; the verse demonstrates its counterfeit—strategic persuasion masked as concern.