Shloka 2
Adhyāya 179 — Bharadvāja’s Reductionist Inquiry into Jīva and Pañcabhūta Dissolution
अनन्तमिव मे वित्तं यस्य मे नास्ति किज्चन । मिथिलायां प्रदीप्तायां न मे दह्यति किउड्चन,[जनक बोले--] मेरे पास अनन्त-सा धन-वैभव है; फिर भी मेरा कुछ नहीं है। इस मिथिलापुरीमें आग लग जाय तो भी मेरा कुछ नहीं जलता
anantam iva me vittaṁ yasya me nāsti kiñcana | mithilāyāṁ pradīptāyāṁ na me dahyati kiñcana ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: «Mi riqueza parece infinita, y sin embargo, en verdad nada es “mío”. Aunque Mithilā ardiera en llamas, nada de lo mío se quemaría».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True freedom lies in non-ownership and non-attachment: even amid vast wealth, one should not cling to possessions as ‘mine’. Such inner renunciation prevents grief and fear, and supports steady conduct in dharma.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma cites (or echoes) King Janaka’s famous stance: though a ruler of prosperous Mithilā, he claims nothing as his own—so even a city-wide fire would not ‘burn’ him through loss.