Shloka 2.108.12
जाबाल्युपदेशः — Jabali’s Pragmatic Counsel to Rama
गत स्स नृपतिस्तत्र गन्तव्यं यत्र तेन वै।प्रवृततिरेषा मर्त्यानां त्वं तु मिथ्या विहन्यसे।।।।
gataḥ sa nṛpatis tatra gantavyaṃ yatra tena vai |
pravṛttir eṣā martyānāṃ tvaṃ tu mithyā vihanyase || 2.108.12 ||
That king has gone where he was destined to go; such is the course of mortals—yet you are wearing yourself out in vain.
That king (Dasaratha) has gone to the place where he ought to go. Such is the nature of mortals. You are fruitlessly undergoing difficulties.
The counsel pushes toward expediency: since death is inevitable, one should not bind oneself to painful vows—contrasting with Rāma’s dharma that treats duty as meaningful despite mortality.
Jābāli argues that Daśaratha’s death is simply the natural fate of mortals and that Rāma’s continued exile is needless suffering.
Rāma’s endurance and principled commitment are implicitly contrasted with Jābāli’s pragmatic dismissal of vow-bound duty.