Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 22: Rāma Instructs Lakṣmaṇa
Text 2.22.15
कृतान्तस्त्वेव सौमित्रे द्रष्टव्यो मत्प्रवासने।
राज्यस्य च वितीर्णस्य पुनरेव निवर्तने॥
kṛtāntas tv eva saumitre draṣṭavyo mat-pravāsane
rājyasya ca vitīrṇasya punar eva nivartane
kṛtāntaḥ tu = providence 2; eva = alone; saumitre = O son of Sumitrā; draṣṭavyaḥ = one should consider; mat-pravāsane = to be the cause of My exile; rājyasya ca = regarding this kingdom; vitīrṇasya = which had been given [to Me]; punaḥ eva = and; nivartane = the cause of this reversal.
O son of Sumitrā, one should consider providence alone to be the cause of My exile and the cause of this reversal regarding this kingdom which had been given [to Me].
In the previous chapter, Rāma informed [Lakṣmaṇa] about the existence of piety [and how it can be attained]. Now, He incidentally mentions that there is something other than piety called providence who grants the results [of everyone’s actions]. Therefore, Kaikeyī was not the cause of His exile and so she should not be condemned. Some think that providence refers to one’s unseen karmic reactions from the past. [But] the authoritative ācāryas state that it refers to the Supreme Lord Himself.
When Rāma states that providence alone is the cause of His exile and so on, what does it imply? That is stated in the next verse.