Valmiki Ramayana 2.108.15 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 108, Shloka 15
जाबाल्युपदेशः
Jabali’s Pragmatic Counsel to Rama
यदि भुक्तमिहान्येन देहमन्यस्य गच्छति।दद्यात्प्रवसत श्श्राद्धं न तत्पथ्यशनं भवेत्।।।।
yadi bhuktam ihānyena deham anyasya gacchati |
dadyāt pravasataḥ śrāddhaṁ na tat pathyaśanaṁ bhavet ||
यदि हि भुक्तमिहान्येन अन्नं देहमन्यस्य गच्छेत्। प्रवसतः पुरुषस्य श्राद्धं दद्यात्—तत् न तस्य पथ्यशनं भवेत्॥
Who is whose friend? who is to get what and from whom? Man is born alone and will die alone.
FAQs
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.
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