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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.61.21

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: without authority to settle disputes, they say, people will prey on one another

2.61.21

nārājake janapade svakaṃ bhavati kasya cit
matsyā iva narā nityaṃ bhakṣayanti parasparam

In a kingless land nothing belongs to anyone; like fishes, men constantly devour one another.

Words: nārājake — not in a kingless (land); janapade — land; svakaṃ — one's own (property); bhavati — is, belongs; kasya cit — to anyone; matsyā iva — like fishes; narā — men; nityaṃ — constantly; bhakṣayanti — devour; parasparam — one another

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.