Shloka 2.76.7
दशरथस्य अन्त्येष्टि-विधानम् — Dasaratha’s Funeral Rites and Ayodhya’s Mourning
क्व यास्यसि महाराज हित्वेमं दुःखितं जनम्।हीनं पुरुषसिंहेन रामेणाक्लिष्टकर्मणा।।2.76.7।।
kva yāsyasi mahārāja hitvemam duḥkhitaṃ janam |
hīnaṃ puruṣasiṃhena rāmeṇākliṣṭakarmaṇā ||2.76.7||
O great king, where have you gone, leaving this grief-stricken people—bereft of Rāma, the lion among men, whose deeds are ever untainted by hardship?
O great king! Where will you go leaving me who is bewailing for having been left by Rama, the lion among men and a man of pious deeds?
The verse highlights rājadharma and familial duty: the king’s presence safeguards social order, and Rāma’s akliṣṭa-karma (steadfast righteous conduct) is portrayed as a moral anchor whose absence intensifies communal suffering.
After returning to Ayodhyā, Bharata learns of Daśaratha’s death and Rāma’s exile; overwhelmed, he addresses the departed king in grief.
Rāma’s virtue is emphasized through the epithet akliṣṭakarma—his unwavering, disciplined righteousness even under hardship.