Shloka 49
Śuka’s Guṇa-Transcendence and Vyāsa’s Consolation (शुकगति-वर्णनम्)
अथवा दु:खशैथिल्यं वीक्ष्य लिड़े कृता मतिः । कि तदेवार्थसामान्यं छत्रादिषु न लक्ष्यते
athavā duḥkha-śaithilyaṁ vīkṣya liṅge kṛtā matiḥ | kiṁ tad evārtha-sāmānyaṁ chatrādiṣu na lakṣyate ||
Janaka berkata: “Atau adakah kerana melihat tanda-tanda (sanyasa) itu mengurangkan kesusahan, maka para pertapa mengambilnya? Jika itulah tujuan praktikal yang umum, mengapa tujuan yang sama tidak dilihat juga pada penggunaan payung dan seumpamanya?”
जनक उवाच
Educational Q&A
Janaka questions whether ascetic emblems are adopted for genuine spiritual reasons or merely for practical comfort. If the justification is simply reducing hardship, then ordinary conveniences (like an umbrella) would serve the same end—implying that external signs alone do not establish true renunciation or dharma.
In a discourse on dharma and renunciation in the Śānti Parva, King Janaka challenges the rationale behind visible ascetic identifiers (such as staff and ochre robes). He argues that if these are defended as tools for easing discomfort, then similar everyday items should be equally acceptable, thereby probing the difference between symbolic identity and inner discipline.