Shloka 19
जनक-राज्ञः मौण्ड्य-परिव्रज्या-विवादः
Janaka’s Renunciation Questioned; Discourse on Dāna and Detachment
यइमां कुण्डिकां भिन्द्यात् त्रिविष्टब्धं च यो हरेत् । वासश्नापि हरेत् तस्मिन् कथं ते मानसं भवेत्
yad imāṁ kuṇḍikāṁ bhindyāt trivisṭabdhaṁ ca yo haret | vāsaś cāpi haret tasmin kathaṁ te mānasaṁ bhavet ||
阿周那说道：“若有人打碎这水罐，夺走你的杖，甚至连你的衣也偷去——那时你的心境将如何？”
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse probes whether one’s claimed renunciation is genuine: even minimal possessions (pot, staff, cloth) can trigger anger, grief, or agitation. Ethical steadiness is shown by equanimity under loss and insult, not merely by outward signs of ascetic life.
Arjuna challenges a renunciant (or a person presenting ascetic ideals) with a concrete scenario of theft and damage to basic ascetic items, asking how the person’s mind would react—thereby testing attachment and the capacity for patience and self-mastery.