Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 108, Shloka 14
जाबाल्युपदेशः
Jabali’s Pragmatic Counsel to Rama
अष्टका पितृदैवत्यमित्ययं प्रसृतो जनः।अन्नस्योपद्रवं पश्य मृतो हि किमशिष्यति।।।।
aṣṭakā pitṛdaivatyam ity ayaṃ prasṛto janaḥ |
annasyopadravaṃ paśya mṛto hi kim aśiṣyati || 2.108.14 ||
लोक अष्टका-श्राद्धात पितरच देवता आहेत असे मानून गुंतले आहेत. अन्नाचा हा अपव्यय पाहा—मृताला तरी काय खाता येणार?
People perform ashtaka ceremony for the spirits of ancestors and offer them food. Look at the amount of food being wasted. Will the dead (ever) eat food?
FAQs
The verse attacks ritual dharma by denying any efficacy of offerings to ancestors; within the Ramayana’s ethical frame, it functions as a deliberately provocative stance against inherited sacred duties.
Jābāli attempts to dislodge Rāma’s reverence for ancestral obligation by mocking pitṛ-rites as mere waste, supporting his broader plea that Rāma abandon exile.
Rāma’s reverence for tradition and duty (pitṛ-bhakti and dharma-śraddhā) is implicitly challenged, preparing for his principled rebuttal.