Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 47, Shloka 7
अयोध्यायाः पौरविलापः
Lament of the Citizens of Ayodhya on Rama’s Absence
इहैव निधनं यामो महाप्रस्थानमेव वा।रामेण रहितानां हि किमर्थं जीवितं हि नः।।।।
ihaiva nidhanaṃ yāmo mahāprasthānam eva vā | rāmeṇa rahitānāṃ hi kimarthaṃ jīvitaṃ hi naḥ ||
इहैव निधनं यामो महाप्रस्थानमेव वा। रामेण रहितानां हि किमर्थं जीवितं हि नः॥
How is it that the mighty-armed Rama who never renders services done to him fruitless has deserted his devoted people and gone into exile?
FAQs
It reveals how dharma is experienced as moral orientation: without the righteous exemplar, people feel life loses direction and value.
In extreme grief, the citizens speak of death as preferable to living without Rāma.
Rāma’s role as a sustaining moral center for society—his presence gives people hope and purpose.