Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 114, Shloka 8
अयोध्याप्रवेशः
Bharata Enters Ayodhya and Perceives the City’s Desolation
त्यक्तां यज्ञायुधैः सर्वैरभिरूपैश्च याजकैः। सुत्याकाले सुनिर्वृत्ते वेदिं गतरवामिव।।2.114.8।।
tyaktāṃ yajñāyudhaiḥ sarvair abhirūpaiś ca yājakaiḥ | sutyākāle sunirvṛtte vediṃ gataravām iva || 2.114.8 ||
তা যেন সেই বেদী—সোমযজ্ঞের সুত্যা-কাল সম্পূর্ণ হলে যাকে ত্যাগ করা হয়; সব যজ্ঞোপকরণ ও সুপাত্র যাজক থাকলেও তার ধ্বনি নিস্তব্ধ।
FAQs
Ritual (yajña) is meaningful when animated by right purpose and right persons; when the sustaining centre is gone, forms remain but life departs. Dharma is portrayed as living order, not empty ceremony.
Ayodhyā is compared to a ritual ground after completion—implements and priests remain, yet the vibrant activity has ended—mirroring the city’s hush after Rāma’s exile.
The verse emphasizes the sanctifying presence of the righteous: the city’s ‘yajña-like’ life depends on dhārmic leadership and harmony.