Jabali
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jabali () is a character in the ancient Indian epic
Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...
. A learned
Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
priest and an advisor of King
Dasharatha Dasharatha (, IAST: Daśaratha; born Nemi) was the king of Kosala, with its capital at Ayodhya, in the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. Dasharatha married Kausalya, Sumitra and Kaikeyi. He was the father of Rama, the protagonist of the epic Ramayana ...
, he unsuccessfully tries to persuade
Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...
to give up his exile, using rational arguments.


Attempt to persuade Rama

In Ramayana, Rama abandons his claim to the royal throne and goes on a 14-year
exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...
, in order to fulfill his father's promise. Rama considers his decision as his ''
dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...
'' (righteous duty), necessary for his father's honour. In ''Ayodhya Khanda'', Jabali accompanies Bharata to the forest, as part of a group that tries to convince Rama to give up his exile. He reminds him of the fact he said when he came to ayodhya after completing gurukul that.... never give up your pleasures for the one who don't care about your martyr and just throw you out Jabali uses
nihilist Nihilism () encompasses various views that reject certain aspects of existence. There have been different nihilist positions, including the views that life is meaningless, that moral values are baseless, and that knowledge is impossible. Thes ...
and
atheistic Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
reasoning to dissuade Rama from continuing the exile. He states that those give up ''
artha ''Artha'' (; ; Pali: Attha, Tamil: பொருள், poruḷ) is one of the four goals or objectives of human life in Hindu traditions.James Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Rosen Publishing, New York, , pp 55–56 ...
'' (material pleasures) for the sake of ''dharma'' suffer in this life and meet extinction after their death. Showing further disbelief in the concept of
afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...
, he criticizes the ''
shraddha Shraddha may refer to: In religion * Śrāddha, a Hindu ritual performed for one's deceased ancestors * Śraddhā, the Sanskrit term used to refer to faith in Buddhism In Buddhism, faith (, ) refers to a serene commitment to the prac ...
'' ritual, in which people offer food to their dead ancestors. He calls it a wastage of food, and sarcastically suggests that if food eaten by one person at a given place could nourish another person at another place, ''shraddha'' should be conducted for those going on long journeys, so they would not need to eat anything. However, even after listening to the arguments of Jabali and others, Rama refuses to give up his exile and extols the virtues of following the ''dharma''.


Rama's response

Valmiki Valmiki (; , ) was a legendary poet who is celebrated as the traditional author of the epic ''Ramayana'', based on the attribution in the text itself. He is revered as ''Ādi Kavi'', the first poet, author of ''Ramayana'', the first epic poe ...
's Ramayana contains a section that describes Rama angrily denouncing Jabali, which includes the following verses: In these and subsequent verses, Rama becomes so angry that he denounces his own father for keeping Jabali as an adviser. He accuses Jabali of being an
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
, and states that those following the nastika path deserve to be punished. In the subsequent verses, he emphasizes the importance of following the ''dharma''. Jabali then retracts his statements, saying that he was merely arguing like a nihilist to convince Rama to come back, but he is not actually a nihilist.
Vashistha Vasishtha (, ) is one of the oldest and revered Vedic rishis or sages, and one of the Saptarishis (seven great Rishis). Vasishtha is credited as the chief author of Mandala 7 of the ''Rigveda''. Vasishtha and his family are mentioned in Rigv ...
supports Jabali, stating that he was speaking in the interest of Rama. Where as some other versions of ramayana suggest that he was a supporter of maharishi jabali. and was always trying to gain the knowledge of renouncing worldly pleasures by just leaving them


Interpolation

The verses depicting Rama's anger are considered a later insertion in Valimiki's original text. Every
canto The canto () is a principal form of division in medieval and modern long poetry. Etymology and equivalent terms The word ''canto'' is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing", which comes from the Latin ''cantus'', "song", from th ...
of Ramayana ends with one long
shloka Shloka or śloka ( , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927).) in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is "any verse or stan ...
written in a different
metre The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...
, compared to the other verses. However, the version of the canto containing these verses contains six long shlokas in a different metre. The dialogue between Rama and Jabali is finished in the first shloka, in which Rama is not depicted as annoyed. However, the next few shlokas re-open the dialogue abruptly, and the tone of the conversation contradicts the tone of the earlier dialogue. In his translation, Griffith calls these lines "manifestly spurious" and cautions that these need to be "regarded with suspicion".
August Wilhelm Schlegel August Wilhelm von Schlegel (Schlegel until 1812; ; ; 8 September 176712 May 1845) was a German Indologist, poet, translator and critic. With his brother Friedrich Schlegel, he was a leading influence within Jena Romanticism. His translations o ...
, who translated Ramayana to German (1829), also called these lines fake, and later regretted having included them in his translation. According to Jayantanuja Bandyopadhyaya, Rama's outburst against Jabali in these verses is an example of "
Brahmanical The historical Vedic religion, also called Vedism or Brahmanism, and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism, constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontin ...
counteroffensive against all anti-
Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...
ideals and movements". Although Rama appears to identify Jabali's views as
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, Jabali's arguments reflect the
Charvaka Charvaka (; IAST: ''Cārvāka''), also known as ''Lokāyata'', is an ancient school of Indian philosophy, Indian materialism. It's an example of the Hindu Atheism, atheistic schools in the Ancient Indian philosophies. Charvaka holds direct per ...
school of thought.
William Theodore de Bary William Theodore de Bary ( zh, c=狄培理, p=Dí Péilǐ; August 9, 1919 – July 14, 2017) was an American Sinologist and scholar of East Asian philosophy who was a professor and administrator at Columbia University for nearly 70 years. De Bar ...
calls Jabali's speech a parody of Buddhist
scepticism Skepticism ( US) or scepticism ( UK) is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...
and
antinomianism Antinomianism ( [] 'against' and [] 'law') is any view which rejects laws or Legalism (theology), legalism and argues against moral, religious or social norms (), or is at least considered to do so. The term has both religious and secular meaning ...
.


References

{{Reflist Characters in the Ramayana