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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.72.22

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 72: Bharata stops Mantharā’s punishment. Śatrughna drags her across the floor, Bharata orders her release to avoid Rāma’s condemnation

In the sequence: Bharata tells him to release Mantharā, saying that Rāma would condemn the killing and refuse to speak to either brother → Śatrughna lets her go, and she takes refuge with Kaikeyī.

2.72.22

imām api hatāṃ kubjāṃ yadi jānāti rāghavaḥ
tvāṃ ca māṃ caiva dharmātmā nābhibhāṣiṣyate dhruvam

If Rāghava should learn that even this hunchback had been slain, the righteous one would surely never speak again to you or to me.

Words: imām api — even this; hatāṃ — slain; kubjāṃ — hunchback; yadi — if; jānāti — learns, knows; rāghavaḥ — Rāghava (Rāma); tvāṃ ca — you; māṃ caiva — and me too; dharmātmā — the righteous-souled one; nābhibhāṣiṣyate — will not speak to; dhruvam — surely

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki. 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.