Shloka 21
जनक–ब्राह्मणसंवादः
Viṣaya, Mamatva, and Self-Mastery
नाहमात्मार्थमिच्छामि स्पर्शास्त्वचि गताश्न ये । तस्मान्मे निर्जितो वायुर्वशे तिष्ठति नित्यदा
nāham ātmārtham icchāmi sparśās tvaci gatāś ca ye | tasmān me nirjito vāyur vaśe tiṣṭhati nityadā ||
Janaka said: “I do not seek for myself the pleasures born of touch that arise when contact reaches the skin. Therefore, having conquered the vital wind, I keep it always under my control.”
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Janaka teaches mastery over sense-pleasures: he refuses to pursue tactile enjoyment for personal gratification, and links this detachment to inner discipline—keeping the vital breath (vāyu/prāṇa) under control. The ethical point is that freedom comes from restraint and non-indulgence, not from chasing sensory contact.
In this passage Janaka speaks as a moral exemplar, describing his own practice: he does not seek pleasures arising from touch, and as a result of this disciplined stance he claims to have subdued the ‘vāyu’ (vital wind/breath), which remains continually under his command—signaling yogic steadiness and self-mastery.