Hari Om.
Let us begin the forty first sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam by offering our prostrations at the lotus feet of SrIrAma and our sathguru.
The stickler to dharma, rAma along with sItA and lakshmaNa bid good bye to all his kin in the assembly and boarded the glorious chariot brought forth by minister sumantra to take them to the outskirts of the kingdom. But it was not easy to simply move out of ayOdhyA. On one hand, the king, queen and the king’s wives from the inner apartment came on to the streets to follow rAma. On the other hand, the populace of ayOdhyA were out on the streets in large numbers, to catch one glimpse of rAma, to stop him, to follow him. They would request sumantra to slow down the chariot so that they can catch a glimpse of him. They were grief stricken to see rAma go and were shedding copious tears. mahaRshi says, the dust kicked up by the rolling wheels and galloping horses of the chariot settled down by the copious tears tolling down the faces of the citizens. rAma presses sumantra to move swiftly lest it becomes difficult to control the people. As rAma looks behind from the speeding chariot he sees the once majestic king following the chariot on his feet along with the queens. He presses on to move. On the advice of the ministers, the king stops and stays rooted to the ground gazing helplessly in the direction of rAma. Onwards…
Before boarding the chariot as rAma left the assembly, the inner chambers went up in miserable cries of separation. They cried –
“Where is the protector of the orphans, weak and ascetics headed to?
Where is that conqueror of anger – one who doesn’t get angry even if provoked, who never provokes anyone to be angry and one who pacifies the anger and sorrow is headed to?
That resplendent son of kausalyA treated us as his mothers as well; where is that great headed to?
Where is the protector of the populace headed to?
Alas, the king must be out of his senses to banish such a righteous and truthful rAma to the forest”.
Thus all the grief stricken wives of daSaratha wailed miserably like the cows separated from their calves. Their wailing fell in the ears of the king daSaratha and their grief distressed him further, already reeling in the grief of separation from his son.
That day in ayOdhya, the brAhmins didn’t light fire, women didn’t cook food, and people didn’t attend to their daily chores. Elephants dropped their food, cows didn’t suckle their calves. Even those women who had their first child then were not happy at all! And the sun set.
व्यसृजन् कबलान्नागा गावो वत्सान्न पाययन्।
पुत्रं प्रथमजं लब्ध्वा जननी नाभ्यनन्दत।।2.41.10।।
The moon was menacingly surrounded by the constellation triSanku, jupiter, mercury, mars and other fierce planets. The constellation of viSakha (the star of the city of ayOdhyA) appeared dim shrouded by smoke. The stars were shorn of their brilliance. As rAma left of the forest, clouds rushed on to the skies helped by stormy winds and no celestial objects were visible in the sky now. The city was plunged in to grief. No one cared to eat food or relax otherwise. They were all so grief stricken for their helpless king. There was no one on the highway who didn’t have tears in their eyes. The wind was not pleasant, nor was the moon showering cool radiation; the sun didn’t radiate warmth – whole city was in a terrible shape.
Mothers didn’t bother about their children, nor were the husbands interested in their wives; even brothers were not keen about each other – everyone was on his own, thinking only of rAma! As for rAma’s friends, they went numb afflicted by the overpowering sorrow and lied on the bed in that state.
That city of ayOdhyA bereft of rAma appeared like the earth studded with mountains but without indra. It was enveloped by fear and echoing the sounds of the elephants, horses and the soldiers.
Here we conclude the forty first sarga of the ayOdhyA kAnDam of SrImath vAlmiKi rAmAyaNam and humbly offer it at the lotus feet of SrIrAma. Hari: Om!
jAi SrIrAma.
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Next: 2.42. Lord of the land laments
Previous: 2.40. ayOdhyA in a storm of tears!
rAmabhaktisAmrAjyam 
