Shloka 2.108.3
जाबाल्युपदेशः — Jabali’s Pragmatic Counsel to Rama
कः कस्य पुरुषो बन्धुः किमाप्यं कस्य केनचित्।यदेको जायते जन्तुरेक एव विनश्यति।।।।
yadi bhuktam ihānyena deham anyasya gacchati |
dadyāt pravasataḥ śrāddhaṁ na tat pathyaśanaṁ bhavet ||
If food eaten here by one person could reach and become part of another’s body, then one could likewise offer śrāddha for someone merely traveling far away—would that offering become his meal on the road?
Who is whose friend? who is to get what and from whom? Man is born alone and will die alone.
It promotes rational scrutiny in ethical life: religious claims should be coherent; otherwise they risk becoming empty ritual rather than dharma grounded in truth (satya).
Bharata uses a reductio-style argument about offerings and bodily transfer to challenge a claim about post-death benefit, pressing Rāma toward a practical, visible basis for action.
Critical intelligence and logical consistency—testing assertions rather than accepting them unexamined.