Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 58: Sumantra Conveys the Message of Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa
Text 2.58.28
यदि प्रव्राजितो रामो लोभकारणकारितम्।
वरदाननिमित्तं वा सर्वथा दुष्कृतं कृतम्॥
yadi pravrājito rāmo lobha-kāraṇa-kāritam
vara-dāna-nimittaṁ vā sarvathā duṣkṛtaṁ kṛtam
yadi = whether the reason; pravrājitaḥ = exile; rāmaḥ = for Rāma’s; lobha-kāraṇa-kāritam = is greed; vara-dāna-nimittam = the bestowal of boons; vā = or; sarvathā = in either case; duṣkṛtam = a sinful activity; kṛtam = the king has committed.
“Whether the reason for Rāma’s exile is greed or the bestowal of boons, in either case, the king has committed a sinful activity.
How can giving that which has been promised be an activity that should never be performed? Lakṣmaṇa explains how, in this verse.
At the time of giving her the boons, the king did not work out a contract with Kaikeyī that Bharata would be coronated and that Rāma would be banished. [Besides,] the king could have promised her, “I won’t give the kingdom.” It is also inappropriate to banish one’s eldest son according to the Smṛti 2.
In some readings, lobha-kāraṇa-kāritaḥ appears in the place of lobha-kāraṇa-kāritam, indicating that Rāma was sent [to the forest] because of greed.