Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 33, Shloka 23
त्रयस्त्रिंशः सर्गः
Civic Lament and Rama’s Dutiful Approach to Daśaratha
बिलानि दंष्ट्रिण स्सर्वे सानूनि मृगपक्षिणः।त्यजन्त्वस्मद्भयाद्भीता गजास्सिंहा वनानि च।।।।अस्मत्त्यक्तं प्रपद्यन्तां सेव्यमानं त्यजन्तु च।
bilāni daṃṣṭriṇaḥ sarve sānūni mṛga-pakṣiṇaḥ |
tyajantu asmad-bhayād bhītā gajāḥ siṃhā vanāni ca ||
asmat-tyaktaṃ prapadyantāṃ sevyamānaṃ tyajantu ca |
Let all fanged beasts abandon their dens, and birds and animals their mountain-slopes; let elephants and lions, frightened by the fear of our presence, leave their forests—then let them enter what we have left behind, and vacate the places we now occupy.
Let Kaikeyi take possession of our deserted and dilapidated homes with ruined courtyards which seem as though struck by calamities. They are drained of wealth and foodgrains, covered with dust and abandoned by the gods. There is no water or smoke (from kitchen). They are infested with rats. They stand unswept. There foodgrains lie around ratholes, and broken earthenwares lie scattered. There are no offerings, no sacrifices, no recitation of sacred hymns, no libations and no invocations.
FAQs
The verse uses reversal imagery to express moral protest: when dharma is displaced, the natural and social orders seem to exchange places.
Citizens poetically imagine wildlife taking over the emptied city as they move into the forest with Rāma.
Collective courage and resolve—people are willing to face the wilderness for the sake of dharma and loyalty.