Shloka 2
अनन्तमिव मे वित्तं यस्य मे नास्ति किज्चन । मिथिलायां प्रदीप्तायां न मे दह्यति किउड्चन,[जनक बोले--] मेरे पास अनन्त-सा धन-वैभव है; फिर भी मेरा कुछ नहीं है। इस मिथिलापुरीमें आग लग जाय तो भी मेरा कुछ नहीं जलता
anantam iva me vittaṁ yasya me nāsti kiñcana | mithilāyāṁ pradīptāyāṁ na me dahyati kiñcana ||
Bhishma said: “My wealth appears limitless, yet in truth nothing is ‘mine’. Even if Mithilā were to be set ablaze, nothing of mine would be burned.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True freedom lies in non-ownership and non-attachment: even amid vast wealth, one should not cling to possessions as ‘mine’. Such inner renunciation prevents grief and fear, and supports steady conduct in dharma.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma cites (or echoes) King Janaka’s famous stance: though a ruler of prosperous Mithilā, he claims nothing as his own—so even a city-wide fire would not ‘burn’ him through loss.