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Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa 2.98.7
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: Bharata argues that if the Kingdom was given to him, he can now give it to Rāma → he says the responsibility is too great for him and compares the Kingdom to a breached embankment that only Rāma can repair
2.98.7
sujīvaṃ nityaśas tasya yaḥ parair upajīvyate
rāma tena tu durjīvaṃ yaḥ parān upajīvati
Life is always easy for the man on whom others depend; but for him, Rāma, who must depend upon others, life is hard.
Words: sujīvaṃ — easy living; nityaśas — always; tasya — for him; yaḥ — who; parair — by others; upajīvyate — is depended upon; rāma — O Rāma; tena tu — but for him; durjīvaṃ — hard living; yaḥ — who; parān — upon others; upajīvati — lives dependent
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.