Shloka 17
Pūjya-namaskārya-prakaraṇa
On Those Worthy of Honor and Salutation
एकारामो हाहं शक्र निर्दधन्द्ो निष्परिग्रह:
ekārāmo hāhaṃ śakra nirdahanno niṣparigrahaḥ
মাতঙ্গ বললেন—“হে শক্র (ইন্দ্র), আমি একটিমাত্র সরল আনন্দেই তৃপ্ত; হায়, আমি তো নিরাসক্ত ও নিরুপাধি, তবু দুঃখের আগুনে দগ্ধ হচ্ছি।”
मतंग उवाच
Educational Q&A
External renunciation (being niṣparigraha, without possessions) and simple living (ekārāma) do not automatically remove inner pain; the verse highlights the reality of suffering even for the detached, prompting reflection on deeper causes and remedies beyond mere non-ownership.
Mātaṅga addresses Śakra (Indra) directly, lamenting that despite living with minimal wants and no attachments, he feels ‘burned’—a vivid statement of distress that frames a moral-spiritual dialogue about the nature of hardship and the limits of outward asceticism.