Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 9, Shloka 11
मन्थराप्रेरणा—वरद्वय-स्मरणं च
Manthara’s Provocation and the Recalling of Two Boons
तव दैवासुरे युद्धे सह राजर्षिभिः पतिः।अगच्छत्त्वामुपादाय देवराजस्य साह्यकृत्।।।।दिशमास्थाय वै देवि दक्षिणां दण्डकान्प्रति।वैजयन्तमिति ख्यातं पुरं यत्र तिमिध्वजः।।।।
tava daivāsure yuddhe saha rājarṣibhiḥ patiḥ | agacchat tvām upādāya devarājasya sāhyakṛt ||
diśam āsthāya vai devi dakṣiṇāṃ daṇḍakān prati | vaijayantam iti khyātaṃ puraṃ yatra timidhvajaḥ ||
Wahai Dewi Ratu, dalam perang antara para dewa dan asura, suamimu berangkat bersama para rajarṣi untuk menolong Dewa-raja Śakra (Indra), seraya membawamu. Mengambil arah selatan menuju Daṇḍaka, ia sampai ke kota termasyhur bernama Vaijayanta, tempat Timidhvaja berada.
O queen! during the war between gods and asuras, your husband went with royal saints intending to render assistance to Indra, king of the gods, taking you along with him. He set off in the southern direction of Dandaka forest to a renowned city called Vaijayanta where asura Timidhvaja lived.
FAQs
It points to the dharmic idea of reciprocal obligation: help rendered creates duties of gratitude—though the narrative later shows how such claims can be weaponized.
Mantharā reminds Kaikeyī of the earlier divine conflict where Kaikeyī accompanied Daśaratha and events unfolded that later led to promised boons.
Service and courage are implied in Kaikeyī’s accompanying the king into peril; the verse sets up how past virtue can become a basis for claims.