← 2.36.16 · Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 36: Ayodhyā falls into mourning

Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.36.17

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 36: Ayodhyā falls into mourning. Palace women lament, offerings and daily activity cease, animals refuse food and the city loses its joy

In the sequence: his friends remain overcome in their beds, and fear settles over Ayodhyā.

2.36.17

tatas tv ayodhyā rahitā mahātmanā puraṃdareṇeva mahī saparvatā
cacāla ghoraṃ bhayabhārapīḍitā sanāgayodhāśvagaṇā nanāda ca

Then Ayodhyā, bereft of the great-souled one, like the earth with its mountains bereft of Indra, trembled dreadfully, oppressed by a burden of fear, and its hosts of elephants, warriors and horses cried aloud.

Words: tatas tv — then indeed; ayodhyā — Ayodhyā; rahitā — deprived, bereft; mahātmanā — of the great-souled one; puraṃdareṇeva — as if by Indra (the fort-breaker); mahī — the earth; saparvatā — with its mountains; cacāla — trembled, shook; ghoraṃ — dreadfully, terribly; bhayabhārapīḍitā — oppressed by a burden of fear; sanāgayodhāśvagaṇā — with its hosts of elephants, warriors and horses; nanāda — roared, cried out; ca — and

Composed by Maharṣi Vālmīki, the ādikavi of the ādikāvya: the first poet of the first poem. Sanskrit: The Vālmīki-Rāmāyaṇa: Critical Edition, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1960–1975 (gen. eds. G. H. Bhatt, U. P. Shah); IAST from GRETIL (Göttingen). Translation and word glosses: Claude Opus 4.6–4.7; summaries and sequences: ChatGPT Astra (machine-made). Numbering follows the Critical Edition, not the vulgate (e.g. Gita Press, valmikiramayan.net), so sarga and verse numbers can differ from those editions.