Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 67, Shloka 1
अयोध्यायां शोक-रात्रिः तथा अराजक-राष्ट्रस्य नीतिविचारः
The Night of Lamentation in Ayodhya and the Political Ethics of a Kingless Realm
आक्रन्दितनिरानन्दा सास्रकण्ठजनाकुला।अयोध्यायामवतता सा व्यतीयाय शर्वरी।।।।
ākranditanirānandā sāsrakaṇṭhajanākulā | ayodhyāyām avatatā sā vyatīyāya śarvarī ||
অযোধ্যায় ক্রন্দনে আনন্দশূন্য, অশ্রুরোধিত কণ্ঠের জনসমুদ্রে পরিপূর্ণ সেই রাত্রি যেন দীর্ঘতর হইয়া টানিয়া চলিল, শেষে অতিবাহিত হইল।
The night stretched interminably in Ayodhya, which was filled with sobbing people rendered cheerless by their lamentations.
FAQs
When dharma in the royal household is shaken, the entire city shares the burden; the verse shows how moral-political disorder becomes collective suffering.
Ayodhyā spends a night in communal mourning following the upheavals of exile and the king’s death.
Not an individual virtue but civic solidarity: the city grieves together, indicating deep attachment to righteous order.