Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 47, Shloka 8
अयोध्यायाः पौरविलापः
Lament of the Citizens of Ayodhya on Rama’s Absence
सन्ति शुष्काणि काष्ठानि प्रभूतानि महान्ति च।तैः प्रज्वाल्य चितां सर्वे प्रविशामोऽथ पावकम्।।।।
santi śuṣkāṇi kāṣṭhāni prabhūtāni mahānti ca | taiḥ prajvālya citāṃ sarve praviśāmo ’tha pāvakam ||
Es gibt viele große, dürre Holzscheite; mit ihnen entzünden wir den Scheiterhaufen, und dann werden wir alle ins Feuer treten.
How could he, the best among the kings of Raghu dynasty, who used to protect us as a father protects his own children, go to the forest, abandoning us?
FAQs
As a dharma-lesson, it shows grief can overwhelm discernment; ethical steadiness requires restraint even amid loss.
Citizens, driven to desperation by separation from Rāma, speak of building a pyre and ending their lives.
Indirectly, Rāma’s worth to the community is emphasized—his absence triggers extreme, uncontrolled sorrow.