Valmiki Ramayana 2.8.33 — 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||
Потому пусть твой сын прямо из царского дома (Раджагрихи) отправится в лес. Лишь это мне по сердцу, и воистину это весьма полезно и для тебя.
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.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Valmiki Ramayana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.