पितृमरणश्रवणं जलक्रिया च (Hearing of Daśaratha’s death and the libation rites at Mandākinī)
रथाङ्गसाह्वा नत्यूहा हंसाः कारण्डवाः परे।तथा पुंस्कोकिलाः क्रौञ्चा विसंज्ञा भेजिरे दिशः।।।।
rathāṅga-sāhvā natyūhā haṃsāḥ kāraṇḍavāḥ pare |
tathā puṃs-kokilāḥ krauñcā visaṃjñā bhejire diśaḥ ||
Ducks, waterfowl, geese, and kāraṇḍava birds—likewise male cuckoos and krauñca cranes—seized by terror, scattered senselessly in every direction.
Ducks, water-cranes, geese, karandavas, cranes, male cuckoos and kraunchas fled senselessly in different directions.
The verse reinforces the idea that dharma sustains order; when a righteous order is threatened, ‘direction’ itself becomes metaphorically lost—mirrored by birds fleeing in confusion.
The commotion rises so sharply that even birds abandon their places and scatter.
The people’s intense attachment to Rāma’s righteousness (implicit) drives a collective upheaval felt across creation.