Shloka 2.114.10
अयोध्याप्रवेशः — Bharata Enters Ayodhya and Perceives the City’s Desolation
प्रभाकराद्यै स्सुस्निग्धैः प्रज्वलद्भिरिवोत्तमैः। वियुक्तां मणिभिर्जात्यैर्नवां मुक्तावलीमिव।।2.114.10।।
prabhākarādyaiḥ susnigdhaiḥ prajvaladbhir ivottamaiḥ | viyuktāṃ maṇibhir jātyair navāṃ muktāvalīm iva ||
Ayodhyā appeared like a new pearl-necklace stripped of its finest gems—radiant rubies and other excellent stones—once glossy and blazing in splendour.
The image suggests that when the rightful protectors of dharma are absent, the polity loses its splendour; civic well-being is tied to righteous leadership.
On Bharata’s return, the narrator depicts Ayodhyā’s diminished state through a simile of a necklace missing its gems.
Implicitly, the value of righteous rulers (like the ‘gems’) whose presence sustains the kingdom’s brilliance.