Shloka 14
जनक–ब्राह्मणसंवादः
Viṣaya, Mamatva, and Self-Mastery
कां वै बुद्धि समाश्रित्य सर्वो वै विषयस्तव । नावैषि विषयं येन सर्वो वा विषयस्तव,किस बुद्धिका आश्रय लेकर आप सर्वत्र अपना ही राज्य मानते हैं और किस तरह कहीं भी अपना राज्य नहीं समझते एवं किस तरह सारी पृथ्वीको ही अपना देश समझते हैं?
kāṃ vai buddhiṃ samāśritya sarvo vai viṣayas tava | nāvaiṣi viṣayaṃ yena sarvo vā viṣayas tava ||
ब्राह्मण उवाच— कां वै बुद्धिं समाश्रित्य सर्वो वै विषयस्तव? कया वा बुद्ध्या नावेक्षसे विषयं, येन सर्वा पृथिवी तव देशो भवति?
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse probes the paradox of true mastery: through right discernment (buddhi), one may act in the world without possessiveness. Such a person can treat all places as ‘mine’ in the sense of equal concern and responsibility, yet ‘not mine’ in the sense of non-attachment—making the whole earth a single homeland rather than a set of competing possessions.
A Brāhmaṇa addresses another interlocutor with a pointed question about the mental principle behind their stance toward territory and ownership. The inquiry frames a discussion on how perception and discernment shape one’s relationship to power, land, and identity—whether as possessive rule or as detached, universal belonging.