← 2.8.18 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 8: Mantharā turns Kaikeyī’s mind · 2.8.20 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.8.19
Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 8: Mantharā turns Kaikeyī’s mind. Kaikeyī defends Rāma, Mantharā argues that his descendants will exclude Bharata’s line and urges Rāma’s exile
In the sequence: she claims Bharata's long absence has weakened his position and that Rāma may exile or kill him once his power is secure
2.8.19
bāla eva hi mātulyaṃ bharato nāyitas tvayā
saṃnikarṣāc ca sauhārdaṃ jāyate sthāvareṣv api
For while still a child Bharata was sent by you to his uncle's home; and affection is born of nearness, even among unfeeling things.
Words: bāla eva hi — while still a child; mātulyaṃ — to the maternal uncle's home; bharato — Bharata; nāyitas tvayā — was sent away by you; saṃnikarṣāc ca — and from nearness; sauhārdaṃ — friendship, affection; jāyate — is born, arises; sthāvareṣv api — even among immovable (inanimate) things
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.