← 2.8.2 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 8: Mantharā turns Kaikeyī’s mind · 2.8.4 →
Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.8.3
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: Mantharā throws aside the gift and insists that Kaikeyī is celebrating her own humiliation → she predicts that Kaikeyī will become Kausalyā's servant and Bharata's household will lose its standing
2.8.3
subhagā khalu kausalyā yasyāḥ putro 'bhiṣekṣyate
yauvarājyena mahatā śvaḥ puṣyeṇa dvijottamaiḥ
Fortunate indeed is Kausalyā, whose son is to be consecrated tomorrow, under the Puṣya star, by the foremost of brahmins, to the great office of heir-apparent.
Words: subhagā — fortunate, blessed; khalu — indeed; kausalyā — Kausalyā; yasyāḥ — whose; putro 'bhiṣekṣyate — son will be consecrated; yauvarājyena — with the heir-apparency; mahatā — great; śvaḥ — tomorrow; puṣyeṇa — under the Puṣya (asterism); dvijottamaiḥ — by the best of brahmins
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.