“All gathered heaps must waste away”
Ramayana“All gathered heaps must waste away” is a concise statement of impermanence in a lamenting prince’s meditation on mortality: whatever has been brought together is subject to loss and decay. Set within an argument about Fate’s irresistible power, the line turns consolation into a stark recognition that neither worldly accumulation nor human life can be made permanent.
Context and Meaning
The prince begins by acknowledging that he cannot do what he wills, since Ráma remains mortal and Fate can draw its subject in any direction. The expression then broadens that recognition beyond a single person: gathered things waste away, while lofty learning and power also decay. Its force lies in treating impermanence as a general condition, not merely as one man’s misfortune.
Image and Consequence
The surrounding meditation carries the thought from decay to death: every breathing person must face mortality, just as even a high, firmly built mansion must fall under Time’s assault. The image of the accumulated heap gives the abstract claim a tangible shape, while the sequence from possessions to knowledge, power, life, and buildings steadily widens the scope of loss. The line’s consolation therefore offers no promise of escape; it frames acceptance of what cannot be kept as the prince’s response to grief.
