Shloka 2.41.9
अयोध्यायाः शोकप्रकम्पः (Ayodhya’s Tremor of Grief and Omens)
नाग्निहोत्राण्यहूयन्त नापचन् गृहमेधिनःअकुर्वन्न प्रजाः कार्यं सूर्यश्चान्तरधीयत।।2.41.9।।
nāgnihotrāṇy ahūyanta nāpacan gṛhamedhinaḥ |
akurvan na prajāḥ kāryaṃ sūryaś cāntaradhīyata || 2.41.9 ||
The agnihotra fires were not invoked; householders did not cook; the people did not attend to their daily tasks—and the sun too disappeared from sight as it set.
The sacred fire in agnihotra sacrifices was not invoked; householders did not cook their food; the people did not attend to their daily chores. And the Sun set.
Dharma is shown as a sustaining social-ritual rhythm: when collective grief overwhelms society, even daily duties and sacred rites falter—illustrating how moral leadership and stability support communal dharma.
Ayodhyā is so shaken by Rāma’s exile that normal religious rites and household routines cease as the day ends.
Indirectly, Rāma’s importance to the kingdom’s moral equilibrium—his absence correlates with the collapse of routine dharmic life.