Valmiki Ramayana 2.75.23 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 75, Shloka 23
अयोध्याकाण्डे पञ्चसप्ततितमः सर्गः
Sarga 75: Bharata and Kausalya—Reproach, Oaths, and Reconciliation
कारयित्वा महत्कर्म भर्ता भृत्यमनर्थकम्।अधर्मो योऽस्य सोऽस्यास्तु यस्याऽर्योऽनुमतेगतः।।।।
kārayitvā mahat karma bhartā bhṛtyam anarthakam |
adharmo yo 'sya sa 'syāstu yasyāryo 'numate gataḥ ||
यस्याऽनुमत्या मम आर्यो भ्राता वनं प्रेषितः, स यथाऽनर्थकं भृत्यं महत्कर्म कारयित्वा भर्ता दोषं लभते, तथैव तस्याधर्मदोषोऽस्तु।
May the one who counselled the exile of my esteemed brother acquire the demerit of unrighteousness in the same way as a master who gets a difficult work done by a servant without remuneration.
FAQs
Exploitation is adharma: compelling another to bear hardship without rightful compensation parallels the moral wrong of unjustly sending away a righteous person.
Bharata, shocked by Rāma’s exile, condemns the counsel that led to it and frames it as a moral transgression through vivid analogies.
Bharata’s integrity and devotion to dharma—he refuses to benefit from injustice and openly denounces unrighteous means.
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