Kausalya Entrusts Her Concern to the Queen of Mithila
Ayodhya Kanda, Doha 283
Doha 283 · Movement 2 of 2
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Kausalya gathers courage before speaking further to Sunaina. She knows the woman before her is beloved of Janaka, the king whose discernment has become renowned as a treasury.
No one can presume to instruct the companion of such wisdom. Kausalya therefore does not frame her words as counsel from one royal house to another, or as superior understanding offered to grief.
She speaks as one mother placing a vulnerable concern before another. Reverence clears the chamber of argument. By honoring Sunaina's closeness to Janaka's discernment, Kausalya creates the space in which a difficult proposal about Bharata may be received as trust rather than pressure.
Before asking Mithila for help, Kausalya bows inwardly to Sunaina as the beloved companion of wisdom itself.
Read the passage from the Manas
कौसल्या कह धीर धरि सुनहु देबि मिथिलेसि। को बिबेकनिधि बल्लभहि तुम्हहि सकइ उपदेसि।।283।।
Kausalya said with steady resolve: Listen, O Queen of Mithila! Who can presume to counsel you, the beloved of one who is the very treasure-house of viveka?