Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 23: Lakṣmaṇa’s Arguments
Text 2.23.9
यदि नैवं व्यवसितं स्याद्धि प्रागेव राघव।
तयोः प्रागेव दत्तश्च स्याद्वरः प्रकृतश्च सः॥
yadi naivaṁ vyavasitaṁ syād dhi prāg eva rāghava
tayoḥ prāg eva dattaś ca syād varaḥ prakṛtaś ca saḥ
yadi = if; na = not; evam = thus; vyavasitam syāt hi = Queen Kaikeyī and King Daśaratha had concluded; prāk eva = even before the scheduled coronation ceremony; rāghava = Rāghava; tayoḥ = they would have; prāk eva = earlier on; dattaḥ = been granted [by then]; ca = and; syāt = would have; varaḥ = her boons; prakṛtaḥ ca saḥ = dealt with this issue.
Rāghava, if Queen Kaikeyī and King Daśaratha had not concluded thus even before the scheduled coronation ceremony, they would have dealt with this issue earlier on and her boons would also have been granted [by then].
This is what would have happened according to Lakṣmaṇa: Queen Kaikeyī and King Daśaratha had previously agreed upon that the kingdom would be handed over to Bharata. [But] since Rāma was the eldest [son of Daśaratha], there would be a preparation to coronate Him. At that time, Kaikeyī would have to demand that Daśaratha should fulfill her [pending] two boons. And on the pretext of those two boons, Rāma would be banished and Bharata would be coronated.
According to Lakṣmaṇa, why didn’t Kaikeyī not request the king to fulfill those two boons? And even when she didn’t request, why didn’t the king, who was [certainly] a politician, not dispose of these two boons earlier on? [This was Lakṣmaṇa’s logic.]
Anticipating that Rāmacandra might ask, “Even if what You say were to be true, so what?” Lakṣmaṇa speaks the next verse.