Shloka 46
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
अथ सत्याधिपत्ये5पि ज्ञानेनैवेह केवलम् । मुच्यन्ते सर्वपापेभ्यो देहे परमके स्थिता:
atha satyādhipatye 'pi jñānenaiva iha kevalam | mucyante sarvapāpebhyo dehe paramake sthitāḥ ||
Janaka said: Even when one holds sovereignty grounded in truth, it is solely through knowledge here that beings—though embodied in the highest human form—are freed from all sins. The teaching emphasizes that ethical rule and worldly power do not by themselves grant liberation; inner realization is the decisive means of release.
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation from moral bondage is attained primarily through jñāna (spiritual knowledge/realization). Even truthful sovereignty and righteous authority are insufficient without inner knowledge; wisdom alone is presented as the decisive liberating force.
King Janaka is speaking in a didactic context within Śānti Parva, drawing a distinction between external status (rulership, authority, even when rooted in truth) and the inner means of freedom, asserting that embodied humans are released from sin through knowledge.