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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.98.16

Ayodhyā Kāṇḍa, sarga 98: Bharata’s appeal and Rāma’s answer. Bharata asks him to restore the Kingdom, Rāma teaches the inevitability of loss, separation and death

In the sequence: Rāma answers that possessions end in loss, meetings in separation, and life in death

2.98.16

sarve kṣayāntā nicayāḥ patanāntāḥ samucchrayāḥ
saṃyogā viprayogāntā maraṇāntaṃ ca jīvitam

All accumulations end in depletion, all risings end in falls; all unions end in separation, and life ends in death.

Words: sarve — all; kṣayāntā — ending in decay; nicayāḥ — accumulations, hoards; patanāntāḥ — ending in a fall; samucchrayāḥ — risings, elevations; saṃyogā — unions, meetings; viprayogāntā — ending in separation; maraṇāntaṃ — ending in death; ca jīvitam — and life

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.