Shloka 2.113.24
पादुकाप्रदानं भरतस्य निवृत्तिश्च (The Sandals Bestowed; Bharata’s Return Toward Ayodhya)
सारथे पश्य विध्वस्ता साऽयोध्या न प्रकाशते।निराकारा निरानन्दा दीना प्रतिहतस्वरा।।।।
yānaiś ca śakaṭaiś caiva hayair nāgaiś ca sā camūḥ | punar nivṛttā vistīrṇā bharatasya anuyāyinī ||
That vast host, following Bharata with carriages, carts, horses, and elephants, turned back once more toward Ayodhyā.
O charioteer, look, Ayodhya is in shapeless shambles. It is silent and cheerless. It is dull and desolate. It shines no more.ityārṣē śrīmadrāmāyaṇē vālmīkīya ādikāvyē ayōdhyākāṇḍē trayōdaśōraśatatamassargaḥ.Thus ends the hundredthirteenth sarga in Ayodhyakanda of the holy Ramayana, the first epic composed by sage Valmiki.
Collective duty follows rightful leadership: the army’s ordered return reflects rajadharma—public power moving in service of the kingdom’s moral crisis.
Bharata’s large retinue begins the return journey back toward Ayodhyā.
Responsibility and steadiness—Bharata is followed because he is perceived as acting for duty, not personal gain.