Shloka 11
Ātma-saṃyama-dharma: One-pointedness of Mind and Senses (शुक–व्यास संवादः)
इत्येतच्छोतुमिच्छामि प्रमाणं तूभयं कथम् । कर्मणामविरोधेन कथं मोक्ष: प्रवर्तते
ity etac chrotum icchāmi pramāṇaṁ tūbhayaṁ katham | karmaṇām avirodhena kathaṁ mokṣaḥ pravartate ||
قال شوكا: «أريد أن أسمع ذلك بوضوح: كيف تكون كلتاهما ذاتَ حجّية—الأوامر بالفعل والأوامر بترك الفعل؟ وإذا بدتا متعارضتين، فبأيّ تعليل تُقبلان شهادةً للشاسترا؟ ثم كيف تتحقق الموكشا من غير أن يضع المرء نفسه في مواجهة مجال الواجبات المقرّرة؟»
शुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a central śāstric problem: Vedic teachings sometimes prescribe action (karma, duties/rites) and elsewhere praise renunciation. Śuka asks how both can be valid authorities and how liberation can arise without contradicting the domain of duty—inviting a reconciliation such as differing contexts/eligibilities, stages of life, or inner renunciation while outwardly performing duty.
Śuka, in dialogue with his father (traditionally Vyāsa), requests clarification on an apparent contradiction in scripture: ‘perform action’ versus ‘abandon action.’ He seeks an interpretive principle that preserves the authority of both and a practical account of how mokṣa is attained without rejecting prescribed conduct.