Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 48, Shloka 3
अयोध्यायाः शोकवर्णनम्
Ayodhya’s Lament and Civic Desolation
स्वं स्वं निलयमागम्य पुत्रदारैस्समावृता।अश्रूणि मुमुचुस्सर्वे बाष्पेण पिहिताननाः।।2.48.3।।
svaṃ svaṃ nilayam āgamya putradāraiḥ samāvṛtāḥ |
aśrūṇi mumucuḥ sarve bāṣpeṇa pihitānanāḥ || 2.48.3 ||
নিজ নিজ গৃহে ফিরে, পুত্র ও পত্নী পরিবেষ্টিত হয়ে, সকলেই অশ্রুপাত করতে লাগল; কান্নার বাষ্পে তাদের মুখ আচ্ছন্ন হয়ে গেল।
Rama along with Sita and Lakshmana has been deceitfully exiled and all of us delivered to Bharata like beasts to a butcher (for protection!).
FAQs
The verse highlights communal empathy and moral solidarity: society responds to adharma (a wrongful exile) with shared sorrow, showing that public conscience is sensitive to injustice.
After the shock of Rāma’s exile, the citizens disperse to their homes; grief overwhelms them in private family spaces.
Not a single hero’s virtue, but the citizens’ collective compassion and loyalty—an ethical sensitivity toward righteousness and rightful kingship.