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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.9.34

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

2.9.34

tavedaṃ sthagu yad dīrghaṃ rathaghoṇam ivāyatam
matayaḥ kṣatravidyāś ca māyāś cātra vasanti te

This long hump of yours, jutting out like the front-beam of a chariot — in it dwell your counsels, your statecraft, and your stratagems.

Words: tavedaṃ sthagu — this hump of yours; yad dīrghaṃ — which is long; rathaghoṇam — the front-beam of a chariot; ivāyatam — as if extended; matayaḥ — counsels, thoughts; kṣatravidyāś ca — and the science of statecraft; māyāś cātra — and wiles here; vasanti te — your dwell

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.