Shloka 6
Mokṣa-dharma Yoga-Upadeśa: Equanimity, Sense-Restraint, and Vision of the Ātman (आत्मदर्शन-योगोपदेशः)
अनमित्रश्न निर्बन्धुरनपत्यश्न यः क्वचित् । त्यक्तधर्मार्थकामश्न निराकाड्क्षी च मुच्यते,जो किसीको अपना मित्र, बन्धु या संतान नहीं मानता, जिसने सकाम धर्म, अर्थ और कामका त्याग कर दिया है तथा जो सब प्रकारकी आकांक्षाओंसे रहित है, वह मुक्त हो जाता है
anamitraśn nirbandhur anapatyaśn yaḥ kvacit | tyaktadharmārthakāmaśn nirākāṅkṣī ca mucyate ||
The Brahmin said: Whoever, in any circumstance, does not regard anyone as ‘my friend’, ‘my kinsman’, or ‘my child’; whoever has renounced desire-driven pursuits of dharma, wealth, and pleasure; and whoever is free from all craving—such a person attains liberation.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation arises from inner non-possessiveness—not clinging to identities like ‘my friend/relative/child’—and from renouncing desire-motivated engagement with dharma, artha, and kāma, culminating in freedom from all craving (nirākāṅkṣā).
A Brahmin speaker delivers an instruction on the marks of a liberated person, emphasizing detachment from social bonds and from goal-oriented striving, presenting a soteriological teaching within the Ashvamedhika Parva’s broader post-war reflective discourse.