Shloka 6
आपद्-राजनीतिः (Āpad-rājanīti) — Policy Options in Multi-Front Crisis
राजेन्द्र! पूर्वकालमें कभी उसी राजाने उन्हीं ऋषिका विशेष आदर नहीं किया था। उनकी आशा भंग कर दी थी। इससे वे मुनि “मैं किसी प्रकार भी किसी राजा या दूसरे वर्णके लोगोंका दिया हुआ दान नहीं ग्रहण करूँगा” ऐसा निश्चय करके दीर्घकालीन तपस्यामें लग गये थे ।।
rājendra! pūrvakāle kadācid eva tena rājñā tān ṛṣīn viśeṣeṇa nādarīkṛtāḥ; teṣāṃ cāśā bhaṅktā. tasmāt te munayaḥ—“ahaṃ kathaṃcid api rājñā vā anyavarṇena vā dattam dānaṃ na grahīṣyāmi” iti niścitya dīrghakālīne tapasi pravṛttāḥ. āśā hi puruṣa-bālam utthāpayati tasthuṣī; “tām ahaṃ vyapaneṣyāmi” iti kṛtvā vyavasthitaḥ. vīraghadyumnas tu taṃ bhūyaḥ papraccha munisattamam.
“O lord of kings! In former times that very king once failed to honor those sages with due regard and shattered their expectations. Therefore the ascetics resolved, ‘In no circumstance will I accept a gift given by a king or by people of other social orders,’ and they devoted themselves to long austerities. For hope, when it lingers, rouses even a childish (undisciplined) person into activity; deciding, ‘I shall remove that hope,’ they became firmly established in penance. Meanwhile the valiant Ghadyumna again questioned the best of sages.”
ऋषभ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Hope can bind and propel action even in the undisciplined; therefore a seeker may deliberately uproot hope/expectation to stabilize the mind in austerity and independence, especially after experiencing dishonor or disappointment.
Ṛṣabha explains that a king once disrespected certain sages and broke their expectations; in response they vowed not to accept gifts from kings or other social groups and undertook long penance to extinguish hope. After this explanation, Vīraghadyumna again questions the foremost sage.