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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.61.8

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 urge an immediate appointment from the Ikṣvāku family

2.61.8

nārājale janapade vidyunmālī mahāsvanaḥ
abhivarṣati parjanyo mahīṃ divyena vāriṇā

In a land without a king, the lightning-wreathed, loud-thundering cloud does not pour heavenly water down upon the earth.

Words: nārājale — in a land not kingless (i.e. not in a kingless one); janapade — land, country; vidyunmālī — garlanded with lightning; mahāsvanaḥ — loud-thundering; abhivarṣati — rains down; parjanyo — the rain-cloud; mahīṃ — upon the earth; divyena — with heavenly; vāriṇā — water

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.