Shloka 2.48.4
अयोध्यायाः शोकवर्णनम् (Ayodhya’s Lament and Civic Desolation)
न चाहृष्यन् नचामोदन् वणिजो न प्रसारयन्।न चाशोभन्त पण्यानि नापचन् गृहमेधिनः।।2.48.4।।
na cāhṛṣyan na cāmōdan vaṇijo na prasārayan |
na cāśobhanta paṇyāni nāpacan gṛhamedhinaḥ ||2.48.4||
No one rejoiced, no one felt glad; the merchants did not set out their wares for sale. The market-goods had no splendor, and householders did not even cook.
The people had no joy in life nor did they find cheer in anything. The merchants did not offer their wares for sale. The market-place looked graceless (lifeless). (The stocks were empty). The householders did not cook their food.
Dharma is shown as the sustaining force of civic life: when the righteous prince is wronged and sent away, the people’s inner moral shock manifests outwardly as the collapse of normal duties and livelihoods.
Ayodhyā responds to Rāma’s exile with collective paralysis—trade stops and even daily domestic routines like cooking are abandoned.
Rāma’s role as the moral center of the kingdom is emphasized indirectly: his absence makes ordinary people feel that ordinary pursuits are meaningless.