Shloka 36
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
यश्च मे दक्षिणं बाहुं चन्दनेन समुक्षयेत् | सव्यं वास्यापि यस्तक्षेत् समावेतावुभौ मम,जो मेरी दाहिनी बाँहपर चन्दन छिड़के और जो बायीं बाँहको बँसूलेसे काटे तो ये दोनों ही मनुष्य मेरे लिये एक समान हैं
yaś ca me dakṣiṇaṃ bāhuṃ candanena samukṣayet | savyaṃ vāsyāpi yas takṣet samāvetāv ubhau mama ||
Janaka said: “Whether someone sprinkles sandalwood paste upon my right arm, or someone else cuts my left arm with an adze, both persons are the same to me.”
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The core teaching is equanimity (samatva): the wise person remains inwardly balanced whether receiving honor and comfort (sandalwood anointing) or injury and insult (being cut with an adze), seeing both without attachment or aversion.
King Janaka is speaking in a didactic context of the Shanti Parva, illustrating his inner steadiness through a stark contrast: one person treats him with soothing reverence, another harms him; yet Janaka declares both are equal to him, emphasizing mastery over reactive emotions.