Shloka 4
नारद-समङ्ग-संवादः — The Nārada–Samaṅga Dialogue on Fearlessness and Equanimity
सुसुखं बत जीवामि यस्य मे नास्ति किंचन । मिथिलायां प्रदीप्तायां न मे दह्युति किंचन
su-sukhaṃ bata jīvāmi yasya me nāsti kiṃcana | mithilāyāṃ pradīptāyāṃ na me dahyati kiṃcana ||
Bhishma dit : «Vraiment, je vis dans une grande quiétude, car rien, absolument rien, n’est à moi. Quand bien même Mithilā serait livrée aux flammes, rien de ce qui est à moi ne brûlerait.» (Ce propos, attribué au roi Janaka, souligne l’éthique du non-attachement : lorsque s’éteint le sentiment du “mien” (mamatā), l’âme demeure inébranlable au milieu des pertes, des désastres et des bouleversements.)
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches aparigraha/non-possessiveness: when one abandons the sense of ownership (‘mine-ness’), one remains inwardly secure even if external possessions, status, or the whole city/kingdom is destroyed.
In the Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and right conduct, Bhishma cites (or echoes) King Janaka’s famous declaration to illustrate the ideal of a wise ruler who is inwardly detached—so that even a calamity like Mithilā burning does not disturb him through personal loss.