Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 41, Shloka 12
अयोध्यायाः शोकप्रकम्पः
Ayodhya’s Tremor of Grief and Omens
नक्षत्राणि गतार्चींषि ग्रहाश्च गततेजसः।विशाखास्तु सधूमाश्च नभसि प्रचकाशिरे।।2.41.12।।
nakṣatrāṇi gatārcīṁṣi grahāś ca gatatejasaḥ |
viśākhās tu sadhūmāś ca nabhasi pracakāśire ||
নক্ষত্ৰসমূহে নিজৰ কান্তি হেৰুৱালে, গ্ৰহসমূহৰ তেজো ক্ষীণ হ’ল; বিশাখা নক্ষত্ৰ ধোঁৱাৰে আৱৃত যেন আকাশত প্ৰকাশ পালে।
The stars were shorn of their radiance. The brilliance of the planets diminished. Shrouded in smoke the Visakha constellation appeared in the sky.
FAQs
The verse conveys that adharma’s pressure casts a shadow over the world: when rightful order is disrupted, even the heavens seem dim—an epic way of teaching moral causality.
Continuing the description of portents, the cosmos is depicted as losing luminosity at the time of Rāma’s departure.
The emphasis is on the gravity of the event rather than a virtue: it magnifies the ethical weight of the exile by cosmic symbolism.