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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.61.18

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 61: Ayodhyā without a King. Ministers warn that food production, worship, trade and protection will fail without a ruler and ask Vasiṣṭha to arrange succession

In the sequence: they explain what they fear without a King: neglected agriculture and public works, interrupted sacrifices and festivals, unsafe travel and trade, insecurity at home, and a weakened army

2.61.18

nārājake janapade caraty ekacaro vaśī
bhāvayann ātmanātmānaṃ yatrasāyaṃgṛho muniḥ

In a kingless land the self-controlled sage, a solitary wanderer contemplating the Self by the self and making his home wherever evening finds him, does not roam free.

Words: nārājake — not in a kingless (land); janapade — land; caraty — wanders; ekacaro — a solitary wanderer; vaśī — self-controlled; bhāvayann — cultivating, contemplating; ātmanātmānaṃ — the self by the self; yatrasāyaṃgṛho — making his home wherever evening finds him; muniḥ — the sage

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.