Shloka 19
जनक-राज्ञः मौण्ड्य-परिव्रज्या-विवादः
Janaka’s Renunciation Questioned; Discourse on Dāna and Detachment
यइमां कुण्डिकां भिन्द्यात् त्रिविष्टब्धं च यो हरेत् । वासश्नापि हरेत् तस्मिन् कथं ते मानसं भवेत्
yad imāṁ kuṇḍikāṁ bhindyāt trivisṭabdhaṁ ca yo haret | vāsaś cāpi haret tasmin kathaṁ te mānasaṁ bhavet ||
Arjuna disse: “Se alguém quebrasse este pote de água, levasse o teu bastão e até roubasse a tua veste—em que estado ficaria a tua mente então?”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse probes whether one’s claimed renunciation is genuine: even minimal possessions (pot, staff, cloth) can trigger anger, grief, or agitation. Ethical steadiness is shown by equanimity under loss and insult, not merely by outward signs of ascetic life.
Arjuna challenges a renunciant (or a person presenting ascetic ideals) with a concrete scenario of theft and damage to basic ascetic items, asking how the person’s mind would react—thereby testing attachment and the capacity for patience and self-mastery.