Shloka 3

जनक–सुलभा संवादः

Janaka–Sulabhā Dialogue on Mokṣa and Non-attachment

Devanagari script

अजसं त्विह क्रीडार्थ विकरोति जनाधिप । अव्यक्तबोधनाच्चैव बुध्यमानं वदन्त्यपि,जनेश्वर! जीवात्मा इस जगतमें सदा क्रीड़ा करनेके लिये ही विकारको प्राप्त होता है। वह अव्यक्त प्रकृतिको जानता है, इसलिये ऋषि-मुनि उसे “बुध्यमान' कहते हैं

Transliteration

ajasaṃ tv iha krīḍārthaṃ vikaroti janādhipa | avyaktabodhanāc caiva budhyamānaṃ vadanty api ||

Translation

ವಸಿಷ್ಠನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಹೇ ಜನಾಧಿಪ! ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಜೀವನು ಲೀಲಾರ್ಥವಾಗಿ ಸ್ವಭಾವಪ್ರೇರಣೆಯಿಂದಲೇ ವಿಕಾರವನ್ನು ಹೊಂದುತ್ತಾನೆ. ಅವ್ಯಕ್ತ ಪ್ರಕೃತಿಯ ಬೋಧ ಇರುವುದರಿಂದ ಋಷಿಗಳು ಅವನನ್ನು ‘ಬುಧ್ಯಮಾನ’—ಅರಿವಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಜಾಗೃತನಾಗುತ್ತಿರುವವನು—ಎಂದು ಕೂಡ ಕರೆಯುತ್ತಾರೆ.

Word by Word

अजसम्always, continually

तुbut, indeed

इहhere, in this world

क्रीडार्थम्for the sake of play/sport

विकारम्modification, change

एतिgoes to, attains

जनाधिपO ruler of people

अव्यक्तबोधनात्from (his) knowing/awakening to the Unmanifest

चand

एवindeed, just

बुध्यमानम्the one being awakened/knowing (i.e., the conscious one)

वदन्तिthey say, they call

अपिalso, even

जनेश्वरO lord of people

Speaker

वसिष्ठ उवाच

Characters & Entities

व

वसिष्ठ (Vasiṣṭha)

ज

जनाधिप/जनेश्वर (a king addressed)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames embodied change (vikāra) as a natural, almost playful movement of the jīva within worldly existence, while emphasizing that the jīva is distinguished by cognition—its capacity to apprehend the Unmanifest (avyakta/prakṛti). Hence sages call it ‘budhyamāna’, the self that is actively awakening/knowing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vasiṣṭha is instructing a ruler, explaining the nature of the living self in relation to prakṛti: why the jīva appears to transform in the world and how its defining mark is awareness, especially of the subtle, unmanifest ground of experience.