Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 48, Shloka 5
अयोध्यायाः शोकवर्णनम्
Ayodhya’s Lament and Civic Desolation
नष्टं दृष्ट्वा नाभ्यनन्दन् विपुलं वा धनागमम्।पुत्रं प्रथमजं लब्ध्वा जननी नाभ्यनन्दत।।2.48.5।।
naṣṭaṃ dṛṣṭvā nābhyanandan vipulaṃ vā dhanāgamam |
putraṃ prathamajaṃ labdhvā jananī nābhyanandata ||2.48.5||
Melihat kerugian, mereka tidak bersedih; memperoleh kekayaan besar, mereka tidak bersukacita. Bahkan seorang ibu pun, ketika mendapatkan putra sulungnya, tidak merasakan kebahagiaan.
Neither loss nor acquisition of wealth mattered (to the people). No mother rejoiced over getting her first-born son.
FAQs
The verse places dharma above artha (wealth) and even private milestones: when righteousness is violated in the polity, ordinary gains and losses lose meaning.
The people of Ayodhyā are so consumed by sorrow at Rāma’s exile that neither economic change nor family joy can move them.
Rāma’s moral authority is emphasized by contrast: his removal makes the city’s usual measures of happiness—wealth and progeny—feel empty.