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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.7.16

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 7: Mantharā’s alarm, Kaikeyī’s joy. Mantharā warns of danger to Bharata, Kaikeyī rewards her and declares equal affection for both princes

In the sequence: Mantharā presents Rāma's succession as a threat to Kaikeyī and Bharata, claiming that Daśaratha has used Bharata's absence to give Kausalyā's family the advantage

2.7.16

akṣemaṃ sumahad devi pravṛttaṃ tvadvināśanam
rāmaṃ daśaratho rājā yauvarājye 'bhiṣekṣyati

“A very great calamity has arisen, O queen, one that spells your ruin: King Daśaratha will consecrate Rāma as heir-apparent.

Words: akṣemaṃ — calamity, misfortune; sumahad — very great; devi — O queen; pravṛttaṃ — has arisen, set in; tvadvināśanam — your destruction; rāmaṃ — Rāma; daśaratho — Daśaratha; rājā — king; yauvarājye — as heir-apparent; 'bhiṣekṣyati — will consecrate

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.