Shloka 40
Nārāyaṇasya Guhya-nāmāni Niruktāni (Etymologies of Nārāyaṇa’s Secret Epithets) / नारायणस्य गुह्यनामानि निरुक्तानि
त्यज धर्ममधर्म च तथा सत्यानृते त्यज । उभे सत्यानृते त्यक्त्वा येन त्यजसि तं त्यज
tyaja dharmam adharmaṃ ca tathā satyānṛte tyaja | ubhe satyānṛte tyaktvā yena tyajasi taṃ tyaja ||
नारद ने कहा—धर्म और अधर्म दोनों को छोड़ दो; इसी प्रकार सत्य और असत्य को भी त्याग दो। सत्य-असत्य दोनों का त्याग करके, जिसके द्वारा तुम त्याग करते हो, उस ‘त्याग’ को भी त्याग दो।
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches radical non-attachment: do not cling to moral binaries (dharma/adharma, truth/untruth) as fixed identities, and finally relinquish even the subtle ego-sense or method that claims, “I am renouncing.” True freedom requires dropping attachment not only to objects of choice but also to the renouncer’s standpoint.
In Shanti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Narada delivers a concise, aphoristic teaching aimed at liberation (moksha): he urges the listener to move beyond conventional oppositions and to dissolve the last residue of grasping—attachment to the very act or instrument of renunciation.