Ayodhya Kaanda
62 - Sarasvati perverts the mind of Manthara (a handmaid of queen Kaikeyi); a dialogue between Kaikeyi and Manthara
Chaupais
Description
"I have had all my ambitions fulfilled as a result of my speaking only once; I shall now speak again with another tongue. My wretched head surely deserves to be smashed since you get offended even at my well-meaning words. Those alone who speak unctuous words, minding not what is true and what is false, are your favourites, while I am disagreeable to you. From this day onward I too will utter only that which is palatable to my mistress, or else will keep mum all the twenty-four hours. God has given me a misshapen body and made me dependent on others; one must reap as one has sown and must get what one has given. Whoever may be the ruler, I lose nothing thereby; for shall I cease to be a servant and become a queen now? Damnable is my nature in that I cannot bear to see harm come to you. That is why I just broached the topic. But it was a great blunder on my part; therefore, pardon me, O venerable lady."