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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.8.5

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

2.8.5

hṛṣṭāḥ khalu bhaviṣyanti rāmasya paramāḥ striyaḥ
aprahṛṣṭā bhaviṣyanti snuṣās te bharatakṣaye

Rāma's chief women will surely be delighted, while your daughters-in-law will be joyless at Bharata's downfall.

Words: hṛṣṭāḥ — delighted; khalu — indeed; bhaviṣyanti — will be; rāmasya — of Rāma; paramāḥ — chief, foremost; striyaḥ — women; aprahṛṣṭā — joyless; bhaviṣyanti — will be; snuṣās — daughters-in-law; te — your; bharatakṣaye — at the ruin of Bharata

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.