Manthrā had caught on that Rāma would be installed on the throne, and that Kaikeyī was happy about it, but Manthrā was self-interested, because she had this idea that if Rāma took the throne, then maybe Kaikeyī wouldn't be the main queen. She wouldn't have as much wealth. She might even be pushed out of her position. And, as usual, for a materialistic person, Manthrā was thinking, "What's going to happen to me? What's in it for me?"

It was just like when Bali Mahārāja wanted to give away his wealth to Vāmana Dev and Śukrācārya was thinking, "What about my dakṣiṇā? If you give all that away," he didn't say it directly, "but how are you going to pay me?" So this was the self-interested nature of Manthra, and this is the bane of this world, is this self-interest.

So she spoke to Kaikeyī in very devious undertones, gradually diminishing Kaikeyī's enthusiasm for Rāma being installed on the throne. And this is something to keep in mind: that whatever enthusiasm we have and the kind of direction we have in life, especially in our spiritual life, can easily be diminished by being around offensive or envious people—a few words here and there. In fact, you might notice that there might be somebody you revere very much in devotional service but then, if you hear somebody who's envious of them write something or say something, then you might become doubtful, or now you hold back a little bit.That wholehearted appreciation of that person starts to diminish because of hearing envious words of somebody. So this was the case with Kaikeyī, and then she started thinking in a self-interested way, "Yeah, what will happen to me and so forth."

So then, of course, she took the advice of Manthrā and came up with this plan, which is practically unthinkable nowadays, because people don't follow vows very well, nor do they keep their promises. They say, "Yeah, I'll do it," and then later on, saying, "No, I forgot." That's one thing people say all the time when they go in front of the court and say, "I just don't remember." It's like, what are you going to do with that person now? Yeah, it's like, "I don't remember if I did it or not." They either avoid the truth or they outright lie, or they don't keep their promise, and so forth. But that wasn't the case in this pastime with Rāmacandra and Daśaratha, his father. Because Daśaratha had given a promise to Kaikeyī years and years before, when she had saved him on the battlefield, and he gave her three boons. And she said, "I'll take it later." So somehow, Manthra knew about these and said...

------------------------------------------------------------

To connect with His Grace Vaiśeṣika Dāsa, please visit https://www.fanthespark.com/next-steps/ask-vaisesika-dasa/

------------------------------------------------------------

Add to your wisdom literature collection:

https://iskconsv.com/book-store/

https://www.bbtacademic.com/books/

https://thefourquestionsbook.com/

------------------------------------------------------------