रामेण यदि ते पापे किञ्चित्कृतमशोभनम्।
अपकारः क इह ते वैदेह्या दर्शितोऽथ मे॥
rāmeṇa yadi te pāpe kiñcit kṛtam aśobhanam
apakāraḥ ka iha te vaidehyā darśito ’tha me
rāmeṇa = Rāma; yadi = [even] if; te = you; pāpe = you sinful woman; kiñcit = in any way; kṛtam aśobhanam = offended; apakāraḥ = mistake; kaḥ = what; iha = to exile her; te = you; vaidehyāḥ = of Vaidehī; darśitaḥ = have pointed out; atha me = to me.
“You sinful woman, [even] if Rāma has offended you in any way, what mistake of Vaidehī have you pointed out to me to exile her?1
1 Both Rāma and Sītā were spotless and this was well-known. Therefore the king interrogated Kaikeyī in this manner. Note that when Siddhārtha asked how Rāma could be banished without proving Him guilty of any crime, Kaikeyī irrationally brought in the history of Asamañja for consideration to try to prove that Rāma should be banished empty-handed because banishment means that and nothing else. But when Daśaratha asks here why Sītā-devī has to be banished, Kaikeyī has absolutely nothing to say—nothing, not even another irrational attempt to rationalize Sītā’s exile.
1 Therefore Daśaratha has stated, “If Rāma has offended you in any way...” Though there is no question of Rāma offending any of His mothers and Daśaratha knew this very well, in a state of anger, he uttered these words which he wouldn’t have under normal circumstances.
This is Daśaratha’s statement of anger.1