Shloka 17
Pūjya-namaskārya-prakaraṇa
On Those Worthy of Honor and Salutation
एकारामो हाहं शक्र निर्दधन्द्ो निष्परिग्रह:
ekārāmo hāhaṃ śakra nirdahanno niṣparigrahaḥ
Mātaṅga nói: “Hỡi Śakra (Indra), ta sống an nhiên với chỉ một niềm vui giản dị; than ôi, dẫu không sở hữu gì và đã lìa mọi chấp thủ, ta vẫn bị thiêu đốt (bởi khổ đau).”
मतंग उवाच
Educational Q&A
External renunciation (being niṣparigraha, without possessions) and simple living (ekārāma) do not automatically remove inner pain; the verse highlights the reality of suffering even for the detached, prompting reflection on deeper causes and remedies beyond mere non-ownership.
Mātaṅga addresses Śakra (Indra) directly, lamenting that despite living with minimal wants and no attachments, he feels ‘burned’—a vivid statement of distress that frames a moral-spiritual dialogue about the nature of hardship and the limits of outward asceticism.