Shloka 51
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
तस्माद् धर्मार्थकामेषु तथा राज्यपरिग्रहे । बन्धनायलतनेष्वेषु विद्धयबन्धे पदे स्थितम्
Janaka uvāca: tasmād dharmārthakāmeṣu tathā rājyaparigrahe | bandhanāyatan eṣv eṣu viddhy abaddhe pade sthitam ||
ゆえに、たとえ私はダルマ・アルタ・カーマに携わり、さらに王権を受けて治めるとしても——それらは世に束縛の座と見なされるが——私が無縛の境地に確立していると知れ。
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Janaka teaches that bondage is not created merely by outer roles—pursuing dharma, artha, kāma, or ruling a kingdom—but by inner attachment. One can be established in an unbound state while performing worldly responsibilities, if one remains free from possessiveness and egoic clinging.
In the Śānti Parva’s discourse on peace and liberation, King Janaka speaks as an exemplar of a ruler-sage. He asserts that although he lives amid the usual causes of entanglement—ethical duties, prosperity, pleasure, and royal power—he is to be understood as abiding in the state of inner freedom.