Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 65, Shloka 20
अयोध्याकाण्डे पञ्चषष्टितमः सर्गः — Daśaratha’s Death Discovered in the Palace
Morning Rites Turn to Lament
ततः प्रचुक्रुशुर्दीना स्सस्वरं ता वराङ्गनाः।करेणव इवारण्ये स्थानप्रच्युतयूथपाः।।।।
tataḥ pracukruśur dīnāḥ sasvaraṃ tā varāṅganāḥ | kareṇava ivāraṇye sthānapracyutayūthapāḥ ||
তখন সেই শ্রেষ্ঠা নারীগণ দীন হয়ে উচ্চস্বরে ক্রন্দন করতে লাগলেন—যেমন অরণ্যে দলনেতা স্থানচ্যুত হলে হস্তিনীগণ করুণ আর্তনাদ করে।
Then those women bewailed bitterly and loudly in distress like female elephants in the forest when their leader has fallen out of the herd.
FAQs
It underscores the fragility of worldly support: when the protector (king/leader) falls, dependents suffer. Dharma here is the implied duty of protection in kingship and the human cost when that support ends.
The palace women begin to cry out loudly after realizing the calamity in the royal household—Daśaratha’s passing and the ensuing shock.
Not a single virtue of one character, but the verse highlights the social role of a righteous ruler as a stabilizing center, analogous to a herd-leader.