Shloka 35
Kṣemadarśa–Kālakavṛkṣīya Saṃvāda: Counsel on Impermanence, Non-attachment, and Composure in Dispossession
योगधर्मको जाननेवाले धर्मात्मा धीर मनुष्य अपनी सम्पत्ति तथा पुत्र-पौत्रोंका भी स्वयं ही त्याग कर देते हैं ।।
yogadharmako jānanevāle dharmātmā dhīra manuṣya āpanā sampatti tathā putra-pautroṅ kā bhī svayaṁ hī tyāga kara dete haiṁ. tyaktaṁ svāyambhuve vaṁśe śubhena bharatena ca | nānāratnasamākīrṇaṁ rājyaṁ sphītam iti śrutam || tathānyair bhūmipālaiś ca tyaktaṁ rājyaṁ mahodayam | tyaktvā rājyāni sarve ca vane vanyaphalāśanāḥ || gatāś ca tapasaḥ pāraṁ duḥkhasyāntaṁ ca bhūmipāḥ | bahusaṅkucukaṁ dṛṣṭvā vidhitsāsādhanena ca | tathānye saṁtyajanty eva matvā paramadurlabham ||
Bhishma said: Those steadfast, righteous men who understand the discipline of yoga renounce even their wealth and their sons and grandsons by their own resolve. I have heard that King Bharata, born in the line of Svayambhuva Manu and endowed with auspicious conduct, abandoned his flourishing kingdom filled with many kinds of jewels. In the same way, other rulers too have relinquished great and prosperous realms. Having left their kingdoms, those kings lived in the forest, subsisting on wild fruits and roots; there they crossed beyond austerity and reached the end of suffering. Seeing that wealth is gained only through constant striving and yet is exceedingly unstable—and judging it to be supremely hard to secure—others also renounce it.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that true wisdom in yogic dharma recognizes the instability of wealth and worldly power; therefore the steadfast may renounce even family attachments and royal prosperity, turning to austerity and inner discipline aimed at ending suffering.
In the Shanti Parva discourse, Bhishma cites exemplars—especially King Bharata of the Svayambhuva Manu line—who abandoned jewel-rich, flourishing kingdoms. He generalizes that many rulers left sovereignty for forest life, living on wild produce and pursuing tapas, thereby moving beyond hardship toward the cessation of suffering.