Shloka 17
जनक–ब्राह्मणसंवादः
Viṣaya, Mamatva, and Self-Mastery
एतां बुद्धिं समाश्रित्य ममत्व॑ वर्जितं मया । शृणु बुद्धि च यां ज्ञात्वा सर्वत्र विषयो मम,इसी बुद्धिका आश्रय लेकर मैंने मिथिलाके राज्यसे अपना ममत्व हटा लिया है। अब जिस बुद्धिका आश्रय लेकर मैं सर्वत्र अपना ही राज्य समझता हूँ, उसको सुनो
etāṁ buddhiṁ samāśritya mamatvaṁ varjitaṁ mayā | śṛṇu buddhiṁ ca yāṁ jñātvā sarvatra viṣayo mama ||
Janaka said: “Relying on this understanding, I have cast off the sense of ‘mine’ with regard to the kingdom of Mithilā. Now listen to that understanding by knowing which I regard every sphere of experience as within my own domain—free from possessiveness and grounded in inner sovereignty.”
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Janaka teaches that true freedom and ethical clarity arise from buddhi (discernment) that abandons mamatva (possessive ‘mine-ness’). One may act in the world—even as a ruler—without inner clinging, resting instead in a broader, non-egoic sense of mastery grounded in wisdom.
Janaka is speaking and explaining the mental discipline by which he withdrew possessive attachment from the kingdom of Mithilā. He then introduces a further, more expansive understanding—one that makes him view all domains of experience as ‘his’ in a transformed sense, i.e., not as personal property but as a field met with equanimity and sovereign discernment.