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 ||
जनक ने कहा— मैं बड़े सुख से जीता हूँ, क्योंकि मेरा कुछ भी नहीं है। यदि मिथिला जल उठे, तो भी मेरा कुछ नहीं जलेगा।
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.