Shloka 17
Pūjya-namaskārya-prakaraṇa
On Those Worthy of Honor and Salutation
एकारामो हाहं शक्र निर्दधन्द्ो निष्परिग्रह:
ekārāmo hāhaṃ śakra nirdahanno niṣparigrahaḥ
Mātaṅga dit : «Ô Śakra (Indra), je vis content d’un seul plaisir simple ; hélas, bien que sans possessions et délivré de tout attachement, je suis brûlé (par la souffrance).»
मतंग उवाच
Educational Q&A
External renunciation (being niṣparigraha, without possessions) and simple living (ekārāma) do not automatically remove inner pain; the verse highlights the reality of suffering even for the detached, prompting reflection on deeper causes and remedies beyond mere non-ownership.
Mātaṅga addresses Śakra (Indra) directly, lamenting that despite living with minimal wants and no attachments, he feels ‘burned’—a vivid statement of distress that frames a moral-spiritual dialogue about the nature of hardship and the limits of outward asceticism.