Chapter 108 — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 108

Valmiki Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda

Verse 108.12

अष्टकापितृदेवत्यमित्ययं प्रसृतो जनः। अन्नस्योपद्रवं पश्य मृतो हि किमशिष्यति॥

aṣṭakāpitṛdevatyamityayaṃ prasṛto janaḥ| annasyopadravaṃ paśya mṛto hi kimaśiṣyati||

English Meaning

People engage in Aştaka* in behalf of ancestors and deities. Behold the waste of edibles. Does any dead person feed? *The lunar days and months for propitiating the manes.

M.N. Dutt (1891–94, public domain)