Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 35, Shloka 9
सुमन्त्रस्य कैकेयी-निन्दा
Sumantra’s Reproof of Kaikeyi in the Royal Assembly
यथावयो हि राज्यानि प्राप्नुवन्ति नृपक्षये। इक्ष्वाकुकुलनाथेऽस्मिं स्तल्लोपयितुमिच्छसि।।2.35.9।।
yathāvayo hi rājyāni prāpnuvanti nṛpakṣaye | ikṣvākukulanāthe 'smiṃs tallopayitum icchasi || 2.35.9 ||
君王既逝，诸王子便依长幼次第承受国土。为何你欲在罗摩——伊克什瓦库族之主——一事上，颠覆这既定的法度与旧俗？
After the death of the king, the princes will obtain the kingdom according to seniority. Why do you want to break this tradition in the case of Rama, the lord of the Ikshvaku dynasty?
FAQs
It upholds rāja-dharma and social order: inheritance of kingship should follow established lawful custom (here, seniority), and breaking it is portrayed as adharma.
In Ayodhyā, amid the conflict over Rāma’s consecration and Kaikeyī’s demands, the king appeals to dynastic precedent and the normal rule of succession.
Daśaratha’s concern for maryādā (institutional propriety) and the legitimacy of rule—he frames the issue as fidelity to tradition rather than personal preference.