Shloka 34

जनक-राज्ञः मौण्ड्य-परिव्रज्या-विवादः

Janaka’s Renunciation Questioned; Discourse on Dāna and Detachment

Devanagari script

अनिष्कषाये काषायमीहार्थमिति विद्धि तम्‌ धर्मध्वजानां मुण्डानां वृत्यर्थमिति मे मिति:,“यदि हृदयका कषाय (राग आदि दोष) दूर न हुआ हो तो काषाय (गेरुआ) वस्त्र धारण करना स्वार्थ-साधनकी चेष्टाके लिये ही समझना चाहिये। मेरा तो ऐसा विश्वास है कि धर्मका ढोंग रखनेवाले मथमुंडोंके लिये यह जीविका चलानेका एक धंधामात्र है

Transliteration

aniṣkāṣāye kāṣāyam īhārtham iti viddhi tam | dharmadhvajānāṁ muṇḍānāṁ vṛttyartham iti me matiḥ ||

Translation

Know that wearing ochre robes while one’s inner stains have not been cleansed is merely an attempt at self-serving gain. In my judgment, for shaven-headed men who parade the banner of religion, it becomes only a means of livelihood—religious display without inner purification.

Word by Word

• {'aniṣkāṣāye': 'when not cleansed

• when not purified (especially of inner impurities)', 'kāṣāyam': 'ochre/ascetic robe

• saffron-colored garment associated with renunciation', 'īhā-artham': 'for the sake of striving

• for personal ends/advantage', 'iti': 'thus

• in this manner', 'viddhi': 'know

• understand (imperative)', 'tam': 'that (practice/person), accusative singular', 'dharma-dhvajānām': 'of those who carry the ‘flag’ of dharma

• those who make a show of religiosity', 'muṇḍānām': 'of the shaven-headed (ascetics)', 'vṛtti-artham': 'for livelihood

• as a profession', 'me': 'my', 'matiḥ': 'opinion

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• ascetics wearing kāṣāya (ochre robes)
• muṇḍa (shaven-headed religious mendicants)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Outer marks of renunciation (like ochre robes and a shaven head) are ethically meaningless if inner impurities—attachment, passion, and other दोष—remain. True dharma requires inner cleansing; otherwise religious symbols become tools for self-interest and livelihood.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna voices a critical judgment about pseudo-ascetics: if a person has not removed inner defilements, adopting ascetic dress is not genuine renunciation but a strategy for personal gain, turning धर्म into a public display and a means of subsistence.