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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.98.21
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: each day diminishes life, even when people greet the passing days and seasons with joy
2.98.21
sahaiva mṛtyur vrajati saha mṛtyur niṣīdati
gatvā sudīrgham adhvānaṃ saha mṛtyur nivartate
Death walks along with a man, death sits beside him; and when he has gone a very long road, death returns along with him.
Words: sahaiva — right alongside; mṛtyur — death; vrajati — walks, goes; saha — together; mṛtyur — death; niṣīdati — sits down; gatvā — having gone; sudīrgham adhvānaṃ — a very long road; saha — together; mṛtyur — death; nivartate — returns, turns back
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.