Shloka 14
जनक–ब्राह्मणसंवादः
Viṣaya, Mamatva, and Self-Mastery
कां वै बुद्धि समाश्रित्य सर्वो वै विषयस्तव । नावैषि विषयं येन सर्वो वा विषयस्तव
kāṃ vai buddhiṃ samāśritya sarvo vai viṣayas tava | nāvaiṣi viṣayaṃ yena sarvo vā viṣayas tava ||
The Brāhmaṇa said: “Relying on what kind of understanding do you regard every place as your own domain? And by what understanding do you not recognize any place as your domain—so that, in a deeper sense, the whole earth becomes your country?”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse probes the paradox of true mastery: through right discernment (buddhi), one may act in the world without possessiveness. Such a person can treat all places as ‘mine’ in the sense of equal concern and responsibility, yet ‘not mine’ in the sense of non-attachment—making the whole earth a single homeland rather than a set of competing possessions.
A Brāhmaṇa addresses another interlocutor with a pointed question about the mental principle behind their stance toward territory and ownership. The inquiry frames a discussion on how perception and discernment shape one’s relationship to power, land, and identity—whether as possessive rule or as detached, universal belonging.