Shloka 2.67.20

अयोध्यायां शोक-रात्रिः तथा अराजक-राष्ट्रस्य नीतिविचारः (The Night of Lamentation in Ayodhya and the Political Ethics of a Kingless Realm)

Devanagari script

नाराजके जनपदे बद्धघण्टाविषाणिनः।अटन्ति राजमार्गेषु कुञ्जरा षष्टिहायनाः।।।।

Transliteration

nārājake janapade baddhaghaṇṭāviṣāṇinaḥ | aṭanti rājamārgeṣu kuñjarā ṣaṣṭihāyanāḥ ||

Translation

In a land without a king, even sixty-year-old elephants, their tusks adorned with bells, do not roam about on the royal highways.

Context

In a country without a king, young elephants of sixty years of age, their tusks adorned with bells no longer wander about on the highways.

Characters & Entities

• rājamārga (royal highway)
• kuñjara (elephant)
• ghaṇṭā (bells)

FAQs

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

A stable kingship is a dharmic necessity for public order: even symbols of prosperity and royal culture (processional elephants on highways) vanish when rule is absent.

What is the narrative situation?

The speakers culminate their depiction of disorder by showing that even regulated, prestigious public movement on main roads ceases in a kingless state.

Which character virtue is emphasized?

Administrative order and visible security—virtues by which a realm’s confidence, prosperity, and civic normalcy are maintained.