Shloka 2.41.2
अयोध्यायाः शोकप्रकम्पः (Ayodhya’s Tremor of Grief and Omens)
अनाथस्य जनस्यास्य दुर्बलस्य तपस्विनः।यो गतिश्शरणं चासीत्स नाथः क्व नु गच्छति।।2.41.2।।
anāthasya janasyāsya durbalasya tapasvinaḥ | yo gatiḥ śaraṇaṃ cāsīt sa nāthaḥ kva nu gacchati || 2.41.2 ||
For these people—bereft, weak, and afflicted—he was their refuge and protection; where, then, is that very lord and guardian going now?
Rama was a refuge and a protector to all the people who were defenceless, weak and miserable. Where is such a protector going now? (said the people).
Dharma is framed as protection of the vulnerable: the righteous leader is a ‘gati’ and ‘śaraṇa’ for the weak, and exile feels ethically tragic because it removes that shelter.
The people of Ayodhya, stunned by Rama’s exile, cry out that their protector is leaving and wonder where he is going.
Rama’s karuṇā (compassion) and guardianship—he is remembered as the dependable refuge of the helpless.