Shloka 2.66.25

अयोध्यायां शोकविलापः — Lamentation in Ayodhya after Daśaratha’s death

Devanagari script

बाष्पपर्याकुलजना हाहाभूतकुलाङ्गना।शून्यचत्वरवेश्मान्ता न बभ्राज यथापुरम्।।।।

Transliteration

bāṣpaparyākulajanā hāhābhūtakulāṅganā |

śūnyacatvaraveśmāntā na babhrāja yathāpuram ||

Translation

With people distraught in tears, with household women crying out ‘alas, alas,’ and with courtyards and street-squares lying empty, the city no longer shone as it once had.

Context

With the people of Ayodhya shedding tears, the housewives crying, in anguish, 'alas alas' the courtyards houses and squares of the roads deserted, the city has lost itsearlier brilliance.

Characters & Entities

• Ayodhyā

FAQs

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

It illustrates how a kingdom’s moral and emotional well-being is tied to dharmic stability in the royal household; when injustice and loss strike the throne, ordinary civic life collapses.

What is the narrative situation?

The narrator depicts Ayodhyā’s public grief after the king’s death and the exile crisis.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

The people’s loyalty and shared sense of righteousness is implied by their collective mourning and public lament.