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 ||
Вайшампаяна сказал: «Не тот истинный отречённый, кто “отказывается” от предметов чувств лишь потому, что разлучён с ними. Истинный отречённый — тот, кто, даже имея их перед собой, видит их пороки и оставляет привязанность. Такой достигает бесстрастия (вайрагья); не питая вражды ни к кому, он становится без вражды и не связан узами цепляния.»
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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