Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 12: Kaikeyī Reaffirms her Demands
Text 2.12.8
यदा ते जननीतुल्यां वृत्तिं वहति राघवः।
तस्यैव त्वमनर्थाय किंनिमित्तमिहोद्यता॥
yadā te jananī-tulyāṁ vṛttiṁ vahati rāghavaḥ
tasyaiva tvam anarthāya kiṁ-nimittam ihodyatā
yadā = when; te = you; jananī-tulyām = likes His mother; vṛttim vahati = serves; rāghavaḥ = Rāghava; tasya eva = Him; tvam = you; anarthāya = to harm; kim-nimittam = for what reason; iha = in this manner; udyatā = are preparing.
When Rāghava serves you like His mother, for what reason are you preparing to harm Him in this manner?
1 After they were born to Rāma.
Daśaratha asked Kaikeyī why she wanted to harm Rāma while He served Kaikeyī, considering her to be equal to His mother. He is not asking Kaikeyī why she wanted to harm Rāma at other times—when He was not serving Her. And why should she prepare to harm Him rather than His sons and so on?1