Shloka 2

Adhyāya 179 — Bharadvāja’s Reductionist Inquiry into Jīva and Pañcabhūta Dissolution

Devanagari script

अनन्तमिव मे वित्तं यस्य मे नास्ति किज्चन । मिथिलायां प्रदीप्तायां न मे दह्यति किउड्चन,[जनक बोले--] मेरे पास अनन्त-सा धन-वैभव है; फिर भी मेरा कुछ नहीं है। इस मिथिलापुरीमें आग लग जाय तो भी मेरा कुछ नहीं जलता

Transliteration

anantam iva me vittaṁ yasya me nāsti kiñcana | mithilāyāṁ pradīptāyāṁ na me dahyati kiñcana ||

Translation

Bhīṣma nói: “Của cải của ta tưởng như vô tận, nhưng kỳ thực chẳng có gì là ‘của ta’. Dẫu thành Mithilā bốc cháy, cũng không có gì của ta bị thiêu rụi.”

Word by Word

अनन्तम्endless, infinite

इवas if, like

मेof me, my

वित्तम्wealth

यस्यof which/whose

मेof me, my

नnot

अस्तिis/exists

किञ्चनanything, something

मिथिलायाम्in Mithilā

प्रदीप्तायाम्when (it is) blazing/burning

नnot

मेof me, my

दह्यतिburns, is burnt

किञ्चनanything (at all)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Janaka

Mithila

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True freedom lies in non-ownership and non-attachment: even amid vast wealth, one should not cling to possessions as ‘mine’. Such inner renunciation prevents grief and fear, and supports steady conduct in dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Shanti Parva’s instruction on dharma and liberation, Bhishma cites (or echoes) King Janaka’s famous stance: though a ruler of prosperous Mithilā, he claims nothing as his own—so even a city-wide fire would not ‘burn’ him through loss.