Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 105, Shloka 19
भरतस्य प्रार्थना—रामस्य कालधर्मोपदेशः
Bharata’s Petition and Rama’s Instruction on Time and Mortality
अत्येति रजनी या तु सा न प्रतिनिवर्तते।यात्येव यमुना पूर्णा समुद्रमुदकाकुलम्।।2.105.19।।
atyeti rajanī yā tu sā na pratinivartate | yāty eva yamunā pūrṇā samudram udakākulam ||2.105.19||
Ночь, что миновала, не возвращается; так и Ямуна, полная течения, идет к океану, взволнованному водами, и не возвращается.
When the night dawned, those brothers surrounded by their friends made (morning) ablutions and, after the prayers, returned to Rama.
FAQs
It teaches urgency in dharma: time is irreversible, so one should act truthfully and rightly now rather than postponing duty.
The speaker uses images of night and river-flow to emphasize that what is gone cannot be retrieved.
Apramāda (vigilance): careful, timely action aligned with dharma.