Shloka 2.47.8

अयोध्यायाः पौरविलापः (Lament of the Citizens of Ayodhya on Rama’s Absence)

Devanagari script

सन्ति शुष्काणि काष्ठानि प्रभूतानि महान्ति च।तैः प्रज्वाल्य चितां सर्वे प्रविशामोऽथ पावकम्।।।।

Transliteration

candrahīnam ivākāśaṃ toyahīnam ivārṇavam | apaśyan nihatānandaṃ nagaraṃ te vicetasaḥ ||

Translation

Overcome by grief, they beheld the city, its joy destroyed—like the sky without the moon, like an ocean without water.

Context

There are plenty of dry logs of wood. We will prepare a pyre with them, set fire to it and we all will enter it.

Characters & Entities

• City of Ayodhyā (nagara)
• Moon (candra)
• Ocean (ārṇava)
• Rāma (implied cause of joy’s loss)

FAQs

What is the core ethical principle (Dharma) in this verse?

The verse shows how dharmic leadership sustains social well-being; when righteousness is exiled, collective happiness collapses.

What is the narrative situation?

The people observe Ayodhyā after Rāma’s departure and perceive it as emptied of joy and auspiciousness.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Rāma’s auspicious, life-giving presence is implied—his absence is compared to cosmic deprivation (moonless sky, waterless ocean).