While Rama was trying to convince Bharata to return to Ayodhya, Jabali the eminent Brahmin pronounced words that were contradictory to the very concept of dharma, "Rama your supreme intelligence should not permit you to utter such unwise words. Every creature born comes into this world alone and departs alone. A man, who in his delusion clings to the concept of relatives, thinking this is my mother and this is my father is not considered sane. There is no one who belongs to another, but are like travelers who break their journey in little inns meeting and continuing on their journey the next day. For that reason, the wise do not cultivate attachments. Do not forsake a kingdom to live in the gloom of a forest, infested with hardships and dangers. Life in the jungles does not befit you, nor is it a place where one's youth should be spent. Ayodhya awaits you who are her lord. Untie your matted hair and be crowned. Dasaratha was nobody to you and you were nobody to him, the king is different and you are different. So heed my advice.

Dasaratha has gone where he ought to go. All that is mortal is transient and you grieve in vain. In the name of the Ashtaka sacrifices, food is offered to the spirit of the dead. Do the dead really partake of it? If what a person eats can enter the body of another, then 'Shraddha' can be offered to one who travels long distances. Will that then become food for him on his way? Scriptures are written to induce men to give and their doctrine, decrees the performance of sacrifices, the dispensing of charities and the practice of austerities and renunciation."