Shloka 42
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
त्रिदण्डादिषु यद्यस्ति मोक्षो ज्ञानेन कस्यचित् । छत्रादिषु कथं न स्यात् तुल्यहेतौ परिग्रहे
tridaṇḍādiṣu yady asti mokṣo jñānena kasyacit | chatrādiṣu kathaṁ na syāt tulya-hetau parigrahe ||
Janaka berkata: “Jika bagi seseorang pembebasan dapat dicapai melalui pengetahuan ketika memegang tongkat tiga (tridaṇḍa) dan lambang-lambang pertapaan yang lain, mengapa pembebasan itu tidak dapat dicapai melalui pengetahuan yang sama ketika memegang payung diraja dan tanda-tanda kebesaran yang lain? Kerana punca halangan yang didakwa—‘pemilikan’—adalah sama pada kedua-duanya: yang seorang mengumpulkan tridaṇḍa dan seumpamanya, yang seorang lagi mengumpulkan payung dan seumpamanya.”
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation depends on liberating knowledge and inner non-attachment, not on external status-symbols. If ‘possession’ is blamed as an obstacle, then ascetic insignia can be as much a possession as royal emblems; therefore mokṣa cannot be restricted to a costume or social role.
King Janaka argues against the idea that only a renunciant bearing the triple staff can attain liberation. He challenges the double standard by comparing ascetic insignia (tridaṇḍa, etc.) with royal insignia (parasol, etc.), asserting that the real issue is attachment, not the outward objects.