Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 71, Shloka 38
भरतस्य अयोध्याप्रत्यागमनम्
Bharata’s Return Journey and the Distant Sight of Ayodhya
सम्मार्जनविहीनानि परुषाण्युपलक्षये।।2.71.37।। असंयत कवाटानि श्रीविहीनानि सर्वशः। बलिकर्मविहीनानि धूपसम्मोदनेन च।।2.71.38।। अनाशितकुटुम्बानि प्रभाहीनजनानि च। अलक्ष्मीकानि पश्यामि कुटुम्बिभवनान्यहम्।।2.71.39।।
sammārjana-vihīnānī parūṣāṇy upalakṣaye || 2.71.37 ||
asaṃyata-kavāṭāni śrī-vihīnānī sarvaśaḥ | bali-karma-vihīnānī dhūpa-sammodanena ca || 2.71.38 ||
anāśita-kuṭumbānī prabhā-hīna-janāni ca | alakṣmīkāni paśyāmi kuṭumbibha-vanāny aham || 2.71.39 ||
“I observe householders’ homes left unswept, harsh and grimy; their doors stand unfastened, and everywhere they seem bereft of śrī, of prosperity. No offerings are being made, nor is there the pleasing fragrance of incense. I see families unfed, people without radiance, and houses marked by alakṣmī, inauspiciousness.”
I see the unswept homes of householders standing dirty with doors not closed. There is no beauty anywhere. No one offers oblations (at the time of worship). There is no fragrance of burning incense. The families have no food to eat. The people look cheerless. I see inauspiciousness everywhere.
FAQs
Dharma is shown as the maintenance of ordered household and ritual life; when cleanliness, daily offerings, and basic nourishment collapse, it signals societal distress and moral-ritual disruption.
Nearing Ayodhyā, Bharata observes abnormal, inauspicious conditions in ordinary homes—suggesting a city overwhelmed by grief or calamity.
Attentive responsibility—Bharata reads the city’s condition through signs of disrupted dharmic routine, showing concern for the well-being of the people and the kingdom.