Shloka 46
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
अथ सत्याधिपत्ये5पि ज्ञानेनैवेह केवलम् । मुच्यन्ते सर्वपापेभ्यो देहे परमके स्थिता:
atha satyādhipatye 'pi jñānenaiva iha kevalam | mucyante sarvapāpebhyo dehe paramake sthitāḥ ||
Janaka berkata: “Walaupun seseorang memegang kedaulatan yang berlandaskan kebenaran, di dunia ini hanya melalui pengetahuanlah makhluk—meskipun bersemayam dalam tubuh manusia yang paling mulia—dibebaskan daripada segala dosa. Ajarannya menegaskan bahawa pemerintahan yang beretika dan kuasa duniawi tidak dengan sendirinya memberi pembebasan; kesedaran batinlah yang menentukan.”
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation from moral bondage is attained primarily through jñāna (spiritual knowledge/realization). Even truthful sovereignty and righteous authority are insufficient without inner knowledge; wisdom alone is presented as the decisive liberating force.
King Janaka is speaking in a didactic context within Śānti Parva, drawing a distinction between external status (rulership, authority, even when rooted in truth) and the inner means of freedom, asserting that embodied humans are released from sin through knowledge.