Valmiki Ramayana 2.67.20: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 67, Shloka 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।।।।

Sanskrit recitationValmiki Ramayana 2.67.20

Transliteration

nārājake janapade baddhaghaṇṭāviṣāṇinaḥ | aṭanti rājamārgeṣu kuñjarā ṣaṣṭihāyanāḥ ||

Translation

രാജാവില്ലാത്ത ജനപദത്തിൽ മണികളും വിഷാണങ്ങളും അണിഞ്ഞ ദന്തങ്ങളുള്ള അറുപതു വയസ്സായ വൃദ്ധകുഞ്ജരന്മാരും രാജമാർഗങ്ങളിൽ സഞ്ചരിക്കുകയില്ല.

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Word by Word

• na: not
• na: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/negation marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेधार्थक-अव्यय

• arājake: in a kingless (state)
• arājake: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: a-rājaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• janapade: in the country
• janapade: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janapada (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• baddhaghaṇṭāviṣāṇinaḥ: having tusks/horns with bells fastened
• baddhaghaṇṭāviṣāṇinaḥ: Karta (कर्ता; apposition)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: baddha-ghaṇṭā-viṣāṇin (प्रातिपदिक; बद्ध + घण्टा + विषाणिन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (बद्धा घण्टा यस्य विषाणे/दन्ते सः)

• aṭanti: wander
• aṭanti: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √aṭ (धातु)
• Form: लट् (Present), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन; परस्मैपद

• rājamārgeṣu: on the highways
• rājamārgeṣu: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: rāja-mārga (प्रातिपदिक; राजन् + मार्ग)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन; तत्पुरुषः (राज्ञः मार्गः/राजमार्गः)

• kuñjarāḥ: elephants
• kuñjarāḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kuñjara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• ṣaṣṭihāyanāḥ: sixty years old
• ṣaṣṭihāyanāḥ: Karta (कर्ता; apposition)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ṣaṣṭi-hāyana (प्रातिपदिक; षष्टि + हायन)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; द्विगु-समासः (षष्टिः हायनानि येषाम्)

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

• kuñjara (elephant)

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.