Shloka 2.51.21
अयोध्याकाण्डे एकपञ्चाशः सर्गः — Guha’s Vigil and Lakṣmaṇa’s Lament (Night on the riverbank)
रम्यचत्वरसंस्थानां सुविभक्तमहापथाम्।हर्म्यप्रासादसम्पन्नाम् गणिकावरशोभिताम्।।।।रथाश्वगजसम्बाधां तूर्यनादविनादिताम्।सर्वकल्याणसम्पूर्णां हृष्टपुष्टजनाकुलाम्।।।।आरामोद्यानसम्पन्नां समाजोत्सवशालिनीम्।सुखिता विचरिष्यन्ति राजधानीं पितुर्मम।।।।
ramyacatvarasaṃsthānāṃ suvibhaktamahāpathām | harmyaprāsādasampannāṃ gaṇikāvaraśobhitām || rathāśvagajasambādhāṃ tūryanādavināditām | sarvakalyāṇasampūrṇāṃ hṛṣṭapuṣṭajanākulām || ārāmod yānasampannāṃ samājotsavaśālinīm | sukhitā vicariṣyanti rājadhānīṃ pitur mama ||
They will move about happily in my father’s capital—set with charming squares and well-ordered broad roads, rich in mansions and palaces, adorned by splendid ganikās; thronged with chariots, horses, and elephants; resounding with music; complete in every auspicious prosperity; filled with well-fed and cheerful people; endowed with parks and gardens; and radiant with assemblies and festivals.
They will roam about happily in the capital city of my father with its lovely squares, well-aligned broad highways, its mansions and palaces, full of chariots, elephants, horses. It will be echoing with the sound of trumpets. It will be full of the welfare of all. It will be graced by the fairest of courtesans. Filled with well-nourished and contented people, the city dotted with several pleasure-gardens and parks, will looksplendid with community festivals and fairs.
Rājadharma’s goal is public flourishing—order, prosperity, and social harmony are presented as marks of a well-governed capital.
In contrast to impending grief, the speaker evokes the ideal, festive Ayodhyā where citizens ordinarily live and move about happily.
Civic-mindedness—valuing the people’s welfare and the cultural life of the city.