Shloka 34

जनक-राज्ञः मौण्ड्य-परिव्रज्या-विवादः

Janaka’s Renunciation Questioned; Discourse on Dāna and Detachment

Devanagari script

अनिष्कषाये काषायमीहार्थमिति विद्धि तम्‌ धर्मध्वजानां मुण्डानां वृत्यर्थमिति मे मिति:,“यदि हृदयका कषाय (राग आदि दोष) दूर न हुआ हो तो काषाय (गेरुआ) वस्त्र धारण करना स्वार्थ-साधनकी चेष्टाके लिये ही समझना चाहिये। मेरा तो ऐसा विश्वास है कि धर्मका ढोंग रखनेवाले मथमुंडोंके लिये यह जीविका चलानेका एक धंधामात्र है

Transliteration

aniṣkāṣāye kāṣāyam īhārtham iti viddhi tam | dharmadhvajānāṁ muṇḍānāṁ vṛttyartham iti me matiḥ ||

Translation

Hãy biết rằng khoác áo cà-sa khi những vết nhơ trong lòng chưa được gột rửa chỉ là mưu cầu lợi riêng. Theo phán đoán của ta, đối với những kẻ cạo đầu phất cờ đạo hạnh, đó chỉ trở thành một kế sinh nhai—phô bày tôn giáo mà không có sự thanh tịnh nội tâm.

Word by Word

• {'aniṣkāṣāye': 'when not cleansed

• when not purified (especially of inner impurities)', 'kāṣāyam': 'ochre/ascetic robe

• saffron-colored garment associated with renunciation', 'īhā-artham': 'for the sake of striving

• for personal ends/advantage', 'iti': 'thus

• in this manner', 'viddhi': 'know

• understand (imperative)', 'tam': 'that (practice/person), accusative singular', 'dharma-dhvajānām': 'of those who carry the ‘flag’ of dharma

• those who make a show of religiosity', 'muṇḍānām': 'of the shaven-headed (ascetics)', 'vṛtti-artham': 'for livelihood

• as a profession', 'me': 'my', 'matiḥ': 'opinion

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• ascetics wearing kāṣāya (ochre robes)
• muṇḍa (shaven-headed religious mendicants)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Outer marks of renunciation (like ochre robes and a shaven head) are ethically meaningless if inner impurities—attachment, passion, and other दोष—remain. True dharma requires inner cleansing; otherwise religious symbols become tools for self-interest and livelihood.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna voices a critical judgment about pseudo-ascetics: if a person has not removed inner defilements, adopting ascetic dress is not genuine renunciation but a strategy for personal gain, turning धर्म into a public display and a means of subsistence.