Shloka 2.42.34
द्विचत्वारिंशः सर्गः — दशरथस्य शोक-विलापः तथा कौशल्यागृह-प्रवेशः (Dasaratha’s Lament and Return to Kausalya’s Apartments)
रामं मेऽनुगता दृष्टिरद्यापि न निवर्तते।न त्वा पश्यामि कौसल्ये साधु मां पाणिना स्पृश।।।।
putradvayavihīnaṃ ca snuṣayāpi vivarjitam | apaśyad bhavanaṃ rājā naṣṭacandram ivāmbaram ||
The king saw the palace—deserted by his two sons and even by his daughter-in-law—like the sky bereft of the moon.
O Kausalya, my sight that had followed Rama has not yet returned. I cannot see you clearly. Please touch me with your hand.
The verse indirectly underscores dharma’s cost: righteous choices (Rāma’s adherence to truth and duty) can produce profound worldly suffering for those left behind, yet dharma remains the axis around which the narrative turns.
After Rāma, Lakṣmaṇa, and Sītā have departed, Daśaratha confronts the emptiness of the palace and is overwhelmed by the absence of his beloved family.
Rāma’s steadfastness to dharma is implied by the consequence: his departure creates the ‘moonless sky’ of Ayodhyā for Daśaratha.