Shloka 39
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament for Karṇa and Renunciation-Oriented Self-Assessment (शोक-प्रलापः / त्याग-प्रवृत्तिः)
निवृत्तिपरायण होने, तीर्थयात्रा करने तथा वेद-शास्त्रोंका स्वाध्याय एवं जप करनेसे भी पाप दूर होता है। श्रुतिका कथन है कि त्यागी पुरुष पाप नहीं कर सकता तथा वह जन्म और मरणके बन्धनमें भी नहीं पड़ता ।। प्राप्तवर्त्मा कृतमतिर्त्रह्म सम्पद्यते तदा । स धनंजय निर्दधन्द्वो मुनिर्शानसमन्वित:,धनंजय! उसे मोक्षका मार्ग मिल जाता है और वह ज्ञानी एवं स्थिर-बुद्धि मुनि द्न्द्रहित होकर तत्काल ब्रह्म-साक्षात्कार कर लेता है
nivṛttiparāyaṇo bhūtvā tīrthayātrāṃ ca kurvataḥ | vedaśāstrasvādhyāyajapair api pāpaṃ praṇaśyati || śrutiś ca vadati tyāgī puruṣaḥ pāpaṃ na karoti sa ca janmamaraṇabandhane na patati || prāptavartmā kṛtamatir brahma sampadyate tadā | sa dhanañjaya nirdvandvo munir śāntasamanvitaḥ || dhanañjaya! tasya mokṣamārgo labhyate sa jñānī sthirabuddhir munir dvandvarahitaḥ sadya eva brahmasākṣātkāraṃ karoti ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: When a person becomes devoted to renunciation, undertakes pilgrimages, and applies himself to the study of the Vedas and śāstras along with disciplined repetition (japa), sin is dispelled. The Śruti further declares that a man of true relinquishment does not commit sin, nor does he fall into the bondage of birth and death. Having found the path and fixed his resolve, he then attains Brahman. O Dhanañjaya, such a sage—free from the pairs of opposites and endowed with inner peace—quickly realizes Brahman; for him the way to liberation becomes manifest.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Renunciation-oriented living—supported by pilgrimage, Vedic study, and japa—purifies one from sin; true tyāga prevents fresh wrongdoing and frees one from the bondage of birth and death, culminating in swift realization of Brahman when the mind is firm and beyond dualities.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Arjuna (Dhanañjaya), summarizing scriptural (Śruti) authority for the claim that a renouncer who has found the liberating path and become nirdvandva attains Brahman and the way to mokṣa becomes clear.