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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.8.24

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 warns that Kausalyā will repay earlier slights

2.8.24

sa te sukhocito bālo rāmasya sahajo ripuḥ
samṛdhārthasya naṣṭārtho jīviṣyati kathaṃ vaśe

That comfort-bred boy of yours, a born rival of Rāma — his own fortunes lost, how will he live under the sway of a prospering Rāma?

Words: sa — he; te — your; sukhocito — accustomed to comfort; bālo — the youth; rāmasya — of Rāma; sahajo — born together, natural; ripuḥ — enemy, rival; samṛdhārthasya — of one whose ends are accomplished, prosperous; naṣṭārtho — he whose fortunes are lost; jīviṣyati — will live; kathaṃ — how; vaśe — in subjection, under the power

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.