Shloka 2.42.25
द्विचत्वारिंशः सर्गः — दशरथस्य शोक-विलापः तथा कौशल्यागृह-प्रवेशः (Dasaratha’s Lament and Return to Kausalya’s Apartments)
महाह्रदमिवाक्षोभ्यं सुपर्णेन हृतोरगम्।रामेण रहितं वेश्म वैदेह्या लक्ष्मणेन च।।।।
mahāhradam ivākṣobhyaṃ suparṇena hṛtoragam |
rāmeṇa rahitaṃ veśma vaidehyā lakṣmaṇena ca ||
The palace, bereft of Rāma—and of Vaidehī (Sītā) and Lakṣmaṇa—lay utterly still, like a vast lake unruffled after Suparṇa (Garuḍa) has snatched away the serpent.
The palace without Rama, Lakshmana and Sita, stood like a vast, unperturbed lake with serpents snatched away by Suparna (Garuda).
The verse suggests that true auspiciousness in a kingdom is tied to dharmic persons: when the righteous leave, the seat of power becomes spiritually and emotionally hollow.
After Rāma, Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa depart for exile, the royal residence appears eerily still and emptied of its life-force.
Rāma’s role as the stabilizing, dharmic center is emphasized—his absence is portrayed as the removal of a potent presence.