Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 8: The Conversation Between Kaikeyī and Mantharā
Text 2.8.26
साहं त्वदर्थे सम्प्राप्ता त्वं तु मां नावबुध्यसे।
सपत्निवृद्धौ या मे त्वं प्रदेयं दातुमिच्छसि॥
sāhaṁ tvad-arthe samprāptā tvaṁ tu māṁ nāvabudhyase
sapatni-vṛddhau yā me tvaṁ pradeyaṁ dātum icchasi
sā aham = I; tvat-arthe = for your sake; samprāptā = have come [to you]; tvam1 tu =instead; mām = me; na = without; avabudhyase = understanding; sapatni-vṛddhau = when your co-wife has become prosperous; yā2 me = me; tvam = you; pradeyam = a gift; dātum = to give; icchasi = want.
I have come [to you] for your sake. Instead, without understanding me, you want to give me a gift when your co-wife has become prosperous.
Mantharā anticipated that Kaikeyī would have wondered, “When the eldest son is present, Bharata is not eligible to get the kingdom. What can we do [now]?” Therefore, she presented herself as having come to Kaikeyī for her sake, that is, to tell her [how] to prevent her son’s loss of [His claim to] the kingdom. She then elaborates on what she had said in text 25.