Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 108, Shloka 3
जाबाल्युपदेशः
Jabali’s Pragmatic Counsel to Rama
कः कस्य पुरुषो बन्धुः किमाप्यं कस्य केनचित्।यदेको जायते जन्तुरेक एव विनश्यति।।।।
kaḥ kasya puruṣo bandhuḥ kim āpyaṁ kasya kenacit |
yad eko jāyate jantur eka eva vinaśyati ||
Siapakah benar-benar menjadi kerabat bagi siapa? Apakah yang dapat diperoleh seseorang daripada sesiapa pun? Kerana makhluk lahir seorang diri, dan seorang diri juga ia binasa.
It was to induce people to give charity that treatises are composed by intelligent men exhorting, 'perform sacrifices', 'give charity', 'be initiated', 'practise religious austerities', 'renounce', etc.
FAQs
It teaches vairāgya (detachment): recognizing the ultimate aloneness of birth and death helps one act without possessiveness and with clarity about duty.
Bharata argues philosophically with Rāma, pressing a view that worldly relations are not ultimately binding—part of a broader attempt to persuade Rāma regarding the kingdom.
Dispassion and philosophical austerity—seeing beyond social labels like ‘mine’ and ‘yours’.