Shloka 42
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
त्रिदण्डादिषु यद्यस्ति मोक्षो ज्ञानेन कस्यचित् । छत्रादिषु कथं न स्यात् तुल्यहेतौ परिग्रहे
tridaṇḍādiṣu yady asti mokṣo jñānena kasyacit | chatrādiṣu kathaṁ na syāt tulya-hetau parigrahe ||
Janaka said: “If, for someone, liberation can be attained through knowledge while bearing the triple staff and other ascetic insignia, then why should it not be attainable through that same knowledge while bearing a royal parasol and other emblems? For the supposed cause of obstruction—‘possession’—is the same in both cases: one gathers the triple staff and the like, and another gathers the parasol and the like.”
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation depends on liberating knowledge and inner non-attachment, not on external status-symbols. If ‘possession’ is blamed as an obstacle, then ascetic insignia can be as much a possession as royal emblems; therefore mokṣa cannot be restricted to a costume or social role.
King Janaka argues against the idea that only a renunciant bearing the triple staff can attain liberation. He challenges the double standard by comparing ascetic insignia (tridaṇḍa, etc.) with royal insignia (parasol, etc.), asserting that the real issue is attachment, not the outward objects.