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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.100.4

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 100: Jābāli challenges the exile. He questions permanent family ties, offerings to the dead and belief in the unseen, urging Rāma to accept the available Kingdom

In the sequence: he argues that each person is born and dies alone, and that family, property, and homes are temporary associations, like lodgings on a journey

2.100.4

tasmān mātā pitā ceti rāma sajjeta yo naraḥ
unmatta iva sa jñeyo nāsti kācid dhi kasya cit

Therefore, Rāma, the man who clings, saying 'this is my mother, this my father,' should be regarded as a madman; for no tie exists for anyone.

Words: tasmān — therefore; mātā — mother; pitā ceti — and father, thus; rāma — O Rāma; sajjeta — would be attached, cling; yo naraḥ — the man who; unmatta iva — like a madman; sa jñeyo — he is to be known; nāsti — there is not; kācid — any (tie); dhi — for, indeed; kasya cit — for anyone

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.