Shloka 2.48.1
अयोध्यायाः शोकवर्णनम् (Ayodhya’s Lament and Civic Desolation)
तेषामेवं विषण्णानां पीडितानामतीव च।बाष्पविप्लुतनेत्राणां सशोकानां मुमूर्षया।।2.48.1।।अनुगम्य निवृत्तानां रामं नगरवासिनाम्।उद्गतानीव सत्वानि बभूवुरमनस्विनाम्।।2.48.2।।
teṣām evaṃ viṣaṇṇānāṃ pīḍitānām atīva ca |
bāṣpa-vipluta-netrāṇāṃ saśokānāṃ mumūrṣayā || 2.48.1 ||
anugamya nivṛttānāṃ rāmaṃ nagaravāsinām |
udgatānīva satvāni babhūvur amanasvinām || 2.48.2 ||
Having followed Rama and then returned to the city, the citizens were utterly dejected and deeply afflicted. Their eyes overflowed with tears; crushed by grief and a longing for death, they seemed as though their very life-breath had departed and their minds were emptied of resolve.
The people afflicted with sorrow followed Rama and returned to the city deeply distressed. Eyes overflowing with tears, they longed for death. Smitten with grief, they lost their high-mindedness and looked as if their life had been drained out.
The verse highlights the community’s moral bond to a righteous leader: when Dharma is embodied in Rama, separation from him feels like separation from life itself. It underlines how public virtue and righteous kingship (rāja-dharma) sustain social and emotional order.
After accompanying Rama for some distance during his departure for exile, the citizens turn back toward Ayodhya; on returning, they are overwhelmed by grief and appear lifeless with sorrow.
Rama’s perceived steadfastness in Dharma and Satya is implicit: the citizens’ despair shows how deeply they trust his righteousness, making him their refuge and moral center.