Shloka 18
असंतोषादिदोष-निरूपणम्
On the Faults of Discontent and the Discipline of Detachment
अपि गाथां पुरा गीतां जनकेन वदन्त्युत । निर्दन्द्ेन विमुक्तेन मोक्ष समनुपश्यता
api gāthāṃ purā gītāṃ janakena vadanty uta | nirdvandvena vimuktena mokṣaṃ samanupaśyatā ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Do they also recount the ancient verse once sung by King Janaka—he who, freed from the pairs of opposites and fully released from attachment, beheld liberation directly?”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation is associated with nirdvandvatā—freedom from the pull of opposing experiences (pleasure and pain, honor and dishonor, gain and loss). Janaka is invoked as one who, through such equanimity and inner release, directly apprehended mokṣa.
Yudhiṣṭhira asks whether a well-known ancient gāthā attributed to King Janaka is still recounted. By citing Janaka, he points the discussion toward authoritative teachings on detachment and the vision of liberation within the Shānti Parva’s discourse on dharma and peace.