Valmiki Ramayana 2.48.3: Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 48, Shloka 3
अयोध्यायाः शोकवर्णनम्
Ayodhya’s Lament and Civic Desolation
स्वं स्वं निलयमागम्य पुत्रदारैस्समावृता।अश्रूणि मुमुचुस्सर्वे बाष्पेण पिहिताननाः।।2.48.3।।
svaṃ svaṃ nilayam āgamya putradāraiḥ samāvṛtāḥ |
aśrūṇi mumucuḥ sarve bāṣpeṇa pihitānanāḥ || 2.48.3 ||
తమ తమ గృహాలకు చేరి, కుమారులు భార్యలతో చుట్టుముట్టబడి, అందరూ కన్నీళ్లతో ముఖాలు కప్పుకొని బాష్పంతో విలపిస్తూ అశ్రువులు విడిచారు।
Rama along with Sita and Lakshmana has been deceitfully exiled and all of us delivered to Bharata like beasts to a butcher (for protection!).
FAQs
The verse highlights communal empathy and moral solidarity: society responds to adharma (a wrongful exile) with shared sorrow, showing that public conscience is sensitive to injustice.
After the shock of Rāma’s exile, the citizens disperse to their homes; grief overwhelms them in private family spaces.
Not a single hero’s virtue, but the citizens’ collective compassion and loyalty—an ethical sensitivity toward righteousness and rightful kingship.
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