Canto 2: Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa ()Chapter 59: Sumantra Describes the Agony of all Creatures in the CountryText 2.59.10
Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 59: Sumantra Describes the Agony of all Creatures in the Country
Text 2.59.10
न च सर्पन्ति सत्त्वानि व्याला न प्रचरन्ति च।
रामशोकाभिभूतं तन्निष्कूजमभवद्वनम्॥
na ca sarpanti sattvāni vyālā na pracaranti ca
rāma-śokābhibhūtaṁ tan niṣkūjam abhavad vanam
na ca = do not; sarpanti = move; sattvāni = insects; vyālāḥ = wild beasts; na = do not; pracaranti ca = roam around; rāma-śoka-abhibhūtam = overcome by sorrow for Rāma; tat = the; niṣkūjam = devoid of any sound; abhavat = has become; vanam = forest.
Insects do not move. Wild beasts do not roam around. Overcome by sorrow for Rāma, the forest has become devoid of any sound.
1 Niṣkūjam indicates that there was no cooing of any bird in the forest. The birds were also overwhelmed in separation from Lord Rāmacandra who loved all creatures.
“Insects do not move” means “Insects have become stunned.” Vyālāḥ (“wild beasts”) [here] includes elephants. Wild beasts, habituated to roam around constantly, did not roam around even for food. And just as there was no movement [in the forest], there was no sound [in the forest too].1