Ramayana — 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
नाराजके जनपदे बद्धघण्टाविषाणिनः।अटन्ति राजमार्गेषु कुञ्जरा षष्टिहायनाः।।।।
nārājake janapade baddhaghaṇṭāviṣāṇinaḥ | aṭanti rājamārgeṣu kuñjarā ṣaṣṭihāyanāḥ ||
ରାଜା ନଥିବା ଜନପଦରେ ଘଣ୍ଟା ଓ ବିଷାଣରେ ସଜ୍ଜିତ ଦନ୍ତବାନ, ଷଷ୍ଟି ବର୍ଷର ବୃଦ୍ଧ କୁଞ୍ଜରମାନେ ମଧ୍ୟ ରାଜମାର୍ଗରେ ଅଟନ୍ତି ନାହିଁ।
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.
FAQs
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.
The speakers culminate their depiction of disorder by showing that even regulated, prestigious public movement on main roads ceases in a kingless state.
Administrative order and visible security—virtues by which a realm’s confidence, prosperity, and civic normalcy are maintained.