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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.98.23
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
2.98.23
nandanty udita āditye nandanty astam ite ravau
ātmano nāvabudhyante manuṣyā jīvitakṣayam
Men rejoice when the sun has risen, they rejoice when the sun has set; yet they do not perceive the wasting-away of their own life.
Words: nandanty — they rejoice; udita āditye — when the sun has risen; nandanty — they rejoice; astam ite ravau — when the sun has set; ātmano — of themselves; nāvabudhyante — do not perceive; manuṣyā — men; jīvitakṣayam — the wasting of 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.