Shloka 2.42.23
द्विचत्वारिंशः सर्गः — दशरथस्य शोक-विलापः तथा कौशल्यागृह-प्रवेशः (Dasaratha’s Lament and Return to Kausalya’s Apartments)
शून्यचत्वरवेश्मान्तां संवृतापणदेवताम्।क्लान्तदुर्बलदुःखार्तां नात्याकीर्णमहापथाम्।।।।तामवेक्ष्य पुरीं सर्वां राममेवानुचिन्तयन्।विलपन् प्राविशद्राजा गृहं सूर्य इवाम्बुदम्।।।।
śūnyacatvara-veśmāntāṃ saṃvṛtāpaṇa-devatām |
klānta-durbala-duḥkhārtāṃ nātyākīrṇa-mahāpathām ||
tām avekṣya purīṃ sarvāṃ rāmam evānucintayan |
vilapan prāviśad rājā gṛhaṃ sūrya ivāmbudam ||
He saw the whole city: its squares and homes deserted, its markets and shrines shut, its people weary, weakened, and stricken with grief, its great roads no longer crowded. Seeing Ayodhyā so changed, thinking only of Rāma and lamenting, the king entered his palace like the sun slipping into a bank of clouds.
There the mansions and squares on the highways were all deserted. The temples and market-places were closed. The people were weak, fatigued and tormented with grief. The highways were not much crowded. Having seen such a sight of the city on all sides, lamenting and brooding over Rama, Dasaratha entered his palace like the Sun plunging into a cloud.
Dharma is communal: when the rightful heir is exiled unjustly, the city’s normal rhythms (worship, trade, public life) falter, showing how moral rupture spreads into social life.
Ayodhyā reacts to Rāma’s departure with collective mourning; Daśaratha witnesses the city’s desolation and returns to the palace in despair.
The citizens’ devotion to Rāma is emphasized—their grief shows his moral authority and the love he commands.