Shloka 38
Jarā-Mṛtyu-anatikrama: Janaka–Pañcaśikha-saṃvāda
Aging and Death Cannot Be Overstepped
ममत्वमनया नित्यमहंकारकृतात्मकम् | अपेत्याहमिमां हित्वा संश्रयिष्ये निरामयम्,“अब तो इसको और इसकी अहंकारस्वरूपिणी ममताको त्यागकर इससे सर्वथा अतीत होकर मैं निरामय परमात्माकी शरण लूँगा
mamatvam anayā nityam ahaṅkāra-kṛtātmakam | apetyāham imāṁ hitvā saṁśrayiṣye nirāmayam ||
Vasiṣṭha said: “This sense of ‘mine-ness’ is ever fashioned by ego and takes its very nature from it. Casting it off and going wholly beyond this identification, I shall abandon it and take refuge in the Nirāmaya—the stainless, sorrowless Supreme Self.”
वसिष्ठ उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that ‘mine-ness’ (mamatva) is a product of ego (ahaṅkāra). Freedom comes by abandoning this possessive identification and taking refuge in the sorrowless, stainless Supreme Self (nirāmaya paramātman).
Vasiṣṭha articulates an inner resolve: he will withdraw from ego-born possessiveness and transcend identification with ‘this’ (the basis of attachment), choosing instead the refuge of the Supreme Self as the path to peace and freedom.