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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.9.28

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 9: Mantharā’s plan for the boons. She recalls Kaikeyī’s rescue of Daśaratha and urges Bharata’s abhiṣeka and fourteen years of exile for Rāma

In the sequence: Kaikeyī praises Mantharā's cleverness and promises her lavish rewards

2.9.28

kubje tvāṃ nābhijānāmi śreṣṭhāṃ śreṣṭhābhidhāyinīm
pṛthivyām asi kubjānām uttamā buddhiniścaye

“O hunchback, I did not know you for the excellent one you are, who speaks the best of counsel; on earth you are the foremost of hunchbacks in firmness of judgment.

Words: kubje — O hunchback; tvāṃ — you; nābhijānāmi — I did not recognize; śreṣṭhāṃ — the excellent one; śreṣṭhābhidhāyinīm — who speaks the best (counsel); pṛthivyām — on earth; asi — you are; kubjānām — of hunchbacks; uttamā — the foremost; buddhiniścaye — in firmness of judgment

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.