Mahabharata 3.2.31 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 2, Shloka 31
ब्राह्मणानुयात्रा—शौनकोपदेशः
Brāhmaṇas Follow into Exile and Śaunaka’s Instruction
विप्रयोगे न तु त्यागी दोषदर्शी समागमे । विरागं भजते जनन््तुर्निर्विरो निरवग्रह:
viprayoge na tu tyāgī doṣadarśī samāgame | virāgaṃ bhajate jantur nirvairo niravagrahaḥ ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana disse: “Não é verdadeiramente renunciante quem ‘abandona’ os objetos dos sentidos apenas por estar separado deles. Renunciante real é aquele que, mesmo quando tais objetos estão disponíveis, percebe seus defeitos e solta o apego. Esse alcança o desapego (vairāgya); sem hostilidade contra ninguém, torna-se sem inimizade e livre das amarras do agarrar-se.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Renunciation is not merely the forced absence of pleasures; it is the inner freedom that remains even when pleasures are available. True tyāga arises from discerning the defects of sense-enjoyments and releasing attachment, which leads to dispassion and a mind free from hostility and grasping.
Vaiśaṃpāyana delivers a reflective ethical maxim within the Vana Parva context, emphasizing the distinction between accidental abstinence (due to non-availability) and genuine renunciation grounded in insight and self-mastery.
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