Shloka 10
Sahadeva on Attachment (mamatā), ‘mameti/na mameti’, and the Middle Path of Conduct
अथवा वसतो राजन् वने वन्येन जीवत: । द्रव्येषु यस्य ममता मृत्योरास्ये स वर्तते,अथवा राजन! वनमें रहकर वनके ही फल-फूलोंसे जीवन-निर्वाह करते हुए भी जिस पुरुषकी द्रव्योंमें ममता बनी रहती है, वह मौतके ही मुखमें है
athavā vasato rājan vane vanyena jīvataḥ | dravyeṣu yasya mamatā mṛtyor āsye sa vartate ||
Or else, O King, even if a man dwells in the forest and sustains himself on wild fruits and roots, yet if he still clings with possessiveness to material things, he is as one standing in the very mouth of Death. The outer form of renunciation is worthless without inner freedom from ‘mine-ness’.
सहदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
True renunciation is internal: even an ascetic life in the forest becomes spiritually dangerous if possessiveness (mamatā) toward wealth or objects persists. Attachment is portrayed as placing one in the ‘mouth of Death’—a metaphor for inevitable ruin and bondage.
Sahadeva addresses the king and offers ethical counsel: he contrasts outward austerity (living in the forest on wild produce) with inward attachment, warning that mere lifestyle change without abandoning ‘mine-ness’ does not protect one from downfall.