Valmiki Ramayana 2.73.2 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 73, Shloka 2
भरतस्य कैकेय्याः प्रति धिक्कारः
Bharata’s Rebuke of Kaikeyi and Affirmation of Ikshvaku Royal Dharma
किं नु कार्यं हतस्येह मम राज्येन शोचतः।विहीनस्याथ पित्रा च भ्रात्रा पितृसमेन च।।।।
kiṃ nu kāryaṃ hatasyeha mama rājyena śocataḥ |
vihīnasya atha pitrā ca bhrātrā pitṛsamena ca ||
جب میں آفت زدہ اور غم سے نڈھال ہوں، اور باپ سے محروم ہوں، اور اُس بھائی سے بھی جو میرے لیے باپ کے برابر تھا—تو اب اس راج کا میرے لیے کیا کام؟
Had Rama not treated you as his own mother I would not have the slightest hesitation to renounce you, a lady of sinful disposition.
FAQs
Bharata rejects power divorced from righteousness and family duty; kingship has meaning only when aligned with dharma and the well-being of the rightful order.
After Daśaratha’s death and Rāma’s exile, Bharata confronts Kaikeyī, expressing that the kingdom is worthless to him amid this unjust rupture.
Detachment from self-serving power and fidelity to rightful familial and moral order (dharma-niṣṭhā).
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