Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 35: Furious Sumantra Criticizes Kaikeyī
Text 2.35.23
माता ते पितरं देवि ततः केकयमब्रवीत्।
शंस मे जीव वा मा वा न मामपहसिष्यसि॥
mātā te pitaraṁ devi tataḥ kekayam abravīt
śaṁsa me jīva vā mā vā na mām apahasiṣyasi
mātā = mother; te = your; pitaram = your father; devi = O queen; tataḥ = then; kekayam = Kekaya; abravīt = told; śaṁsa = just tell; me = me; jīva vā = live; mā = die; vā = or; na = never [anymore]; mām = me; apahasiṣyasi = you should ridicule.
O queen, your mother then told your father Kekaya: Live or die, just tell me. You should never ridicule me [anymore].
Because Kaikeyī’s mother said, “Live or die,” it is understood that she had the nature of being a killer of her husband.