Shloka 44
Śānti-parva 168: Śoka-nivṛtti-buddhi (The Cognition that Reduces Grief) and Piṅgalā’s Nairāśya
यो वै न पापे निरतो न पुण्ये नार्थ न धर्मे मनुजो न कामे । विमुक्तदोष: समलोष्टकाञज्चनो विमुच्यते दुःखसुखार्थसिद्धे:
yō vai na pāpe nirato na puṇye nārthe na dharme manujo na kāme | vimuktadoṣaḥ samaloṣṭakāñcano vimucyate duḥkhasukhārthasiddheḥ ||
Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: Quien no se entrega al pecado ni al mérito, no es arrastrado por la búsqueda de la riqueza, ni siquiera se apega al deber religioso como medio, y no se sumerge en el deseo sensual—libre de toda falta—queda liberado de esos logros que engendran placer y dolor. En ese estado de liberación, mira un terrón de tierra y el oro con la misma visión.
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation is described as a state of radical non-attachment: one is not driven by sin, merit, wealth, ritualized duty pursued for gain, or sensual desire. When faults fall away, even extraordinary attainments that produce pleasure and pain no longer bind; the liberated person sees gold and a clod of earth as equal.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on peace and liberation, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a renunciant ideal: the marks of a freed person are inner purity, detachment from worldly aims, and equanimity toward value-laden objects like gold.