Shloka 80
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
निवृत्तं मां चिराद्राजन् विप्रलो भयसे कथम् । स्वेन कार्य करिष्यामि त्वत्तो नेच्छे फलं नृप । तपःस्वाध्यायशीलोऊहं निवृत्तश्न प्रतिग्रहात्
nivṛttaṁ māṁ cirād rājan vipralobhaya se katham | svena kāryaṁ kariṣyāmi tvatto necche phalaṁ nṛpa | tapaḥsvādhyāyaśīlo 'haṁ nivṛttaḥ pratigrahāt ||
ব্ৰাহ্মণে ক’লে—হে ৰাজন, মই বহুদিন আগতেই নিবৃত্ত হৈছোঁ; তেন্তে আপুনি কিয় মোক এতিয়াও লোভ দেখুৱাইছে? হে নৃপ, মই মোৰ কৰ্তব্য নিজেই পালন কৰিম; আপোনাৰ পৰা কোনো ফল নালাগে। প্ৰতিগ্ৰহ ত্যাগ কৰি মই তপ আৰু স্বাধ্যায়ত নিবিষ্ট।
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person established in renunciation should not be swayed by royal inducements or material rewards. True dharma here is self-performed duty without expectation of ‘phala’ (reward), supported by tapas (austerity) and svādhyāya (sacred study), and guarded by restraint from pratigraha (accepting gifts) when it compromises independence or purity of intent.
A brāhmaṇa addresses a king who is trying to attract him with offers (likely wealth or patronage). The brāhmaṇa declines, stating he has already withdrawn from worldly life, will carry out his obligations on his own, seeks no reward from the king, and lives devoted to austerity and scriptural study, having renounced the acceptance of gifts.