Shloka 2.114.22
अयोध्याप्रवेशः — Bharata Enters Ayodhya and Perceives the City’s Desolation
किं नु खल्वद्य गम्भीरो मूर्छितो न निशम्यते। यथापुरमयोध्यायां गीतवादित्रनिस्वनः।।2.114.22।।
kiṃ nu khalv adya gambhīro mūrchito na niśamyate | yathā puram ayodhyāyāṃ gītavāditranisvanaḥ || 2.114.22 ||
Why is it that today, in Ayodhyā, the deep, swelling sound of songs and musical instruments—once filling the city—is not heard?
How is it that in Ayodhya, the deep and all-pervasive songs and sounds of musical instruments of the former days are not heard now?
A ruler-in-training reads the moral health of society through its ordinary joys; dharma is not abstract—when truth and justice are wounded, communal celebration naturally fades.
Bharata notices the absence of Ayodhya’s customary music and festivity and asks his charioteer for the reason.
Bharata’s compassion and vigilance: he is disturbed by the people’s sorrow and seeks the truth (satya) behind it.