Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 67, Shloka 11
अयोध्यायां शोक-रात्रिः तथा अराजक-राष्ट्रस्य नीतिविचारः
The Night of Lamentation in Ayodhya and the Political Ethics of a Kingless Realm
नाराजके धनं चास्ति नास्ति भार्या प्यराजके।इद मत्याहितं चान्यत्कुतस्सत्य मराजके।।।।
nārājake dhanaṁ cāsti nāsti bhāryā py arājake | idam atyāhitaṁ cānyat kutaḥ satyam arājake ||
王なきところでは、財はまことに保たれず、妻もまた安らかではない。さらに重大な危うさがある――王なき国で、真実はいったいどこに立ち得ようか。
In a kingdom without a king wealth cannot be preserved, no wife would like to stay (with her husband). There is one more cause for a great peril, that is, there is no place for truth in a country (where there is no king).
FAQs
Satya (truth) requires institutional protection; without rājadharma, truth and trust erode, and even basic social goods (wealth, family stability) become insecure.
Amid succession uncertainty, speakers warn that the absence of a king leads to moral and material collapse, culminating in the disappearance of truth.
The civic virtue of upholding truth through lawful authority—governance is portrayed as a safeguard for satya in public life.