Shloka 2.48.29
अयोध्यायाः शोकवर्णनम् (Ayodhya’s Lament and Civic Desolation)
पूर्णचन्द्रानन श्श्यामो गूढजत्रुररिन्दमः।आजानुबाहुः पद्माक्षो रामो लक्ष्मणपूर्वजः।।2.48.29।।पूर्वाभिभाषी मधुर स्सत्यवादी महाबलः।सौम्यस्सर्वस्य लोकस्य चन्द्रवत्प्रियदर्शनः।।2.48.30।।नूनं पुरुषशार्दूलो मत्तमातङ्गविक्रमः।शोभयिष्यत्यरण्यानि विचरन् स महारथः।।2.48.31।।
mithyāpravrājito rāmaḥ sasītaḥ sahalakṣmaṇaḥ |
bharate sannisṛṣṭāḥ sma saunike paśavo yathā || 2.48.28 ||
Rāma—together with Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa—has been deceitfully driven into exile; and we have been handed over to Bharata like cattle delivered to a butcher.
Rama, elder brother to Lakshmana is a tiger among men, a subduer of enemies, powerful like an intoxicated elephant, and a great charioteer. Blue in complexion, he has a face like the full Moon. He has lotus-like eyes, knee-long arms and fleshy clavicles. Endowed with a sweet nature, he always speaks the truth and the first to speak to others. When he roams the forest, charming like the Moon and pleasing to the whole world, he will surely make it look graceful.
It condemns deceit as a violation of dharma: a righteous order cannot be established through falsehood, especially when it harms the innocent and destabilizes the moral center of the kingdom.
The people of Ayodhyā react to Rāma’s exile, feeling abandoned and unsafe, fearing they are now at the mercy of political power rather than protected by righteousness.
Rāma’s moral centrality is implied: his removal is felt as the removal of protection rooted in dharma, showing how a virtuous leader becomes a refuge for society.