Opening the text
जाबाल्युपदेशः · Jabali’s Pragmatic Counsel to Rama
कः कस्य पुरुषो बन्धुः किमाप्यं कस्य केनचित् ।
यदेको जायते जन्तुरेक एव विनश्यति ॥३॥
kaḥ kasya puruṣo bandhuḥ kim āpyaṁ kasya kenacit |
yad eko jāyate jantur eka eva vinaśyati ||3||
ผู้ใดเป็นญาติแท้ของผู้ใด? ใครจะได้สิ่งใดจากใครกัน? เพราะสัตว์โลกเกิดมาเพียงลำพัง และดับไปเพียงลำพังจริงแท้
Who is whose friend? who is to get what and from whom? Man is born alone and will die alone.
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’.
Answers come straight from the texts, with the shlokas they draw on. Ask in your own words.
A free sign-in with Google or Apple keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Valmiki Ramayana in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with word-by-word meanings, Sanskrit recitation where available, and more.