Shloka 80
Adhyāya 199: Karma–Jñāna Causality and the Nirguṇa Brahman
Manu’s Instruction
निवृत्तं मां चिराद्राजन् विप्रलो भयसे कथम् । स्वेन कार्य करिष्यामि त्वत्तो नेच्छे फलं नृप । तपःस्वाध्यायशीलोऊहं निवृत्तश्न प्रतिग्रहात्
nivṛttaṁ māṁ cirād rājan vipralobhaya se katham | svena kāryaṁ kariṣyāmi tvatto necche phalaṁ nṛpa | tapaḥsvādhyāyaśīlo 'haṁ nivṛttaḥ pratigrahāt ||
婆罗门说道：“大王啊，我早已久远离世间追逐，你为何仍要引诱我？人中之主啊，我将自尽其责；我不愿从你处求取任何报偿。我已断绝受赠（pratigraha），专志于苦行与自学圣典（svādhyāya）。”
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
A person established in renunciation should not be swayed by royal inducements or material rewards. True dharma here is self-performed duty without expectation of ‘phala’ (reward), supported by tapas (austerity) and svādhyāya (sacred study), and guarded by restraint from pratigraha (accepting gifts) when it compromises independence or purity of intent.
A brāhmaṇa addresses a king who is trying to attract him with offers (likely wealth or patronage). The brāhmaṇa declines, stating he has already withdrawn from worldly life, will carry out his obligations on his own, seeks no reward from the king, and lives devoted to austerity and scriptural study, having renounced the acceptance of gifts.