Shloka 4
नारद-समङ्ग-संवादः — The Nārada–Samaṅga Dialogue on Fearlessness and Equanimity
सुसुखं बत जीवामि यस्य मे नास्ति किंचन । मिथिलायां प्रदीप्तायां न मे दह्युति किंचन
su-sukhaṃ bata jīvāmi yasya me nāsti kiṃcana | mithilāyāṃ pradīptāyāṃ na me dahyati kiṃcana ||
Bhishma sprach: „Wahrlich, ich lebe in großer Unbeschwertheit, denn nichts, gar nichts, ist mein. Selbst wenn Mithilā in Flammen stünde, würde nichts von dem, was mein ist, verbrennen.“ (Dieser Ausspruch, der König Janaka zugeschrieben wird, betont die Ethik der Nicht-Anhaftung: Wer das Gefühl des „Mein“ (mamatā) ablegt, bleibt innerlich unerschüttert in Verlust, Unheil und Umbruch.)
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches aparigraha/non-possessiveness: when one abandons the sense of ownership (‘mine-ness’), one remains inwardly secure even if external possessions, status, or the whole city/kingdom is destroyed.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Bhishma cites (or echoes) King Janaka’s famous declaration to illustrate the ideal of a wise ruler who is inwardly detached—so that even a calamity like Mithilā burning does not disturb him through personal loss.