Shloka 23
जनक-राज्ञः मौण्ड्य-परिव्रज्या-विवादः
Janaka’s Renunciation Questioned; Discourse on Dāna and Detachment
श्रिया विहीनैरधनैस्त्यक्तमित्रैरकिंचनै: । सौखिकै: सम्भृतानर्थान् यः संत्यजति कि नु तत्
śriyā vihīnair adhanais tyaktamitrair akiñcanaiḥ | saukhikaiḥ sambhṛtān arthān yaḥ saṃtyajati ki nu tat ||
Wika ni Arjuna: “Kung ang isang taong salat sa ginhawa, dukha, iniwan ng mga kaibigan, walang-wala, at naghahangad lamang ng aliwalas ay tatalikod sa kanyang pag-aari—ano ang kahanga-hanga roon? Ngunit ang taong puspos ng maharlikang kapalaran at may lahat ng paraan ng pagdiriwang, subalit isinusuko pa rin ang mga tiyak na biyayang iyon—ano nga ba ang tunay na pakinabang na nakukuha niya sa gayong pagtalikod?”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Renunciation is ethically weightier when it is chosen despite having prosperity and secure means; giving up what one never truly had (or has already lost) is not the same as relinquishing real power, wealth, and comfort. The verse probes what genuine benefit or higher good is achieved by such voluntary renunciation.
Arjuna questions the value and purpose of renunciation by contrasting two cases: the destitute who ‘renounce’ out of lack, and the prosperous ruler who renounces despite fullness of royal fortune. He asks what special gain accrues to the latter, setting up a discussion on the fruits and meaning of true tyāga (renunciation).