Canto 2 -
Ayodhyā-kāṇḍa
Chapter 108: Jābāli Speaks the Philosophy of Materialism
Text 2.108.17
स नास्ति परमित्येव कुरु बुद्धिं महामते।
प्रत्यक्षं यत्तदातिष्ठ परोक्षं पृष्ठतः कुरु॥
sa nāsti param ity eva kuru buddhiṁ mahā-mate
pratyakṣaṁ yat tad ātiṣṭha parokṣaṁ pṛṣṭhataḥ kuru
saḥ1 na asti = there is nothing; param = beyond what is directly perceived by our senses; iti eva = that; kuru buddhim = understand; mahā-mate = O greatly intelligent one; pratyakṣam yat tat = on what You directly perceive; ātiṣṭha = be fixed; parokṣam = that which cannot be directly perceived; pṛṣṭhataḥ kuru = set aside.
O greatly intelligent one, understand that there is nothing beyond what is directly perceived by our senses. Be fixed on what You directly perceive. Set aside that which cannot be directly perceived.
1 Technical note: saḥ kuru.
“Be fixed on what You directly perceive” indicates that Rāma who wants to carry out His father’s order should [instead] accept the royal enjoyment and so on [offered by Bharata]. “Set aside which cannot be directly perceived” indicates that He should set aside carrying out His father’s instruction, [something] which [can] yield happiness [only] in an afterlife.