# Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa 36 — Ayodhyā falls into mourning *Palace women lament, offerings and daily activity cease, animals refuse food and the city loses its joy* Portion: Departure and mourning in Ayodhyā · Verses: 17 · Ref format: 2.36. ## Sequence - The palace women lament the departure of the person who protected them and treated them kindly (36.1–6) - their cries deepen Daśaratha's grief → normal activity breaks down: offerings are neglected, animals refuse food or fail to nurse their young, and ominous changes appear in the sky (36.7–11) - the people lose interest in food and pleasure, and no cheerful faces remain on the streets (36.12–13) - the narrative extends the disturbance to wind, moon, and sun, while families think only of Rāma (36.14–15) - his friends remain overcome in their beds, and fear settles over Ayodhyā (36.16–17). ## Verses **2.36.1** tasmiṃs tu puruṣavyāghre niṣkrāmati kṛtāñjalau ārtaśabdo hi saṃjajñe strīṇām antaḥpure mahān As that tiger among men went forth with palms joined, a great cry of distress arose among the women in the inner apartments. **2.36.2** anāthasya janasyāsya durbalasya tapasvinaḥ yo gatiṃ śaraṇaṃ cāsīt sa nāthaḥ kva nu gacchati Of this defenceless, weak and wretched people, he who was their resort and refuge — where indeed does that protector go? **2.36.3** na krudhyaty abhiśasto 'pi krodhanīyāni varjayan kruddhān prasādayan sarvān samaduḥkhaḥ kva gacchati He does not grow angry even when reviled, shunning all that provokes anger, conciliating all who are angered, and sharing their sorrows — where does he go? **2.36.4** kausalyāyāṃ mahātejā yathā mātari vartate tathā yo vartate 'smāsu mahātmā kva nu gacchati The mighty and great-souled one who behaves toward us just as he behaves toward his mother Kausalyā — where indeed does he go? **2.36.5** kaikeyyā kliśyamānena rājñā saṃcodito vanam paritrātā janasyāsya jagataḥ kva nu gacchati Driven to the forest by the king who is tormented by Kaikeyī, the deliverer of this people, of this world — where indeed does he go? **2.36.6** aho niścetano rājā jīvalokasya saṃpriyam dharmyaṃ satyavrataṃ rāmaṃ vanavāso pravatsyati Alas, the king is senseless, that Rāma — beloved of the world of the living, righteous, true to his vows — shall dwell in the forest! **2.36.7** iti sarvā mahiṣyas tā vivatsā iva dhenavaḥ ruruduś caiva duḥkhārtāḥ sasvaraṃ ca vicukruśuḥ Thus all those queens, like cows bereft of their calves, wept and, stricken with grief, cried aloud with one voice. **2.36.8** sa tam antaḥpure ghoram ārtaśabdaṃ mahīpatiḥ putraśokābhisaṃtaptaḥ śrutvā cāsīt suduḥkhitaḥ And that lord of the earth, hearing that terrible cry of distress in the inner apartments, burning with grief for his son, became sorely afflicted. **2.36.9** nāgnihotrāṇy ahūyanta sūryaś cāntaradhīyata vyasṛjan kavalān nāgā gāvo vatsān na pāyayan The fire-oblations were not offered, and the sun was hidden away; the elephants let fall their mouthfuls, and the cows did not suckle their calves. **2.36.10** triśaṅkur lohitāṅgaś ca bṛhaspatibudhāv api dāruṇāḥ somam abhyetya grahāḥ sarve vyavasthitāḥ Triśaṅku (a constellation), Mars, and Jupiter and Mercury too — all the planets, grown baleful, came near the moon and stood there. **2.36.11** nakṣatrāṇi gatārcīṃṣi grahāś ca gatatejasaḥ viśākhāś ca sadhūmāś ca nabhasi pracakāśire The lunar mansions with their rays gone dim, and the planets robbed of their brilliance, and the Viśākhā stars veiled in smoke, showed themselves in the sky. **2.36.12** akasmān nāgaraḥ sarvo jano dainyam upāgamat āhāre vā vihāre vā na kaś cid akaron manaḥ All at once every townsman fell into wretchedness, and no one set his mind on food or on pleasure. **2.36.13** bāṣpaparyākulamukho rājamārgagato janaḥ na hṛṣṭo lakṣyate kaś cit sarvaḥ śokaparāyaṇaḥ With faces bewildered by tears, the people thronging the royal highway — not one is seen glad; all are given over to grief. **2.36.14** na vāti pavanaḥ śīto na śaśī saumyadarśanaḥ na sūryas tapate lokaṃ sarvaṃ paryākulaṃ jagat The cool wind does not blow, the moon is not pleasant to look upon, the sun does not warm the world; the whole world is in turmoil. **2.36.15** anarthinaḥ sutāḥ strīṇāṃ bhartāro bhrātaras tathā sarve sarvaṃ parityajya rāmam evānvacintayan The women's sons had no wants, and so their husbands and brothers; all of them, abandoning everything, thought only of Rāma. **2.36.16** ye tu rāmasya suhṛdaḥ sarve te mūḍhacetasaḥ śokabhāreṇa cākrāntāḥ śayanaṃ na juhus tadā But those who were Rāma's friends, all of them, dazed in mind and overwhelmed by the weight of grief, did not forsake their beds that day. **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.