Shloka 38
Adhyāya 262: Śabda-brahman, Para-brahman, and the Ethics of Tyāga
Kapila–Syūmaraśmi Saṃvāda
यस्मिन्नेवात्मतीर्थे न पशव:ः प्राप्तुयुर्मखम् । अथ सम कर्मणा केन वाणिज प्राप्तुयात् सुखम्
yasminnevātmatīrthe na paśavaḥ prāptuyur makham | atha samakarmaṇā kena vāṇija prāptuyāt sukham ||
إذا كانت البهائم (أي أهل الجهل) لا تنال المَخا، أي القربان (اليَجْنَة)، في هذا الـ«تيرثا» المقدّس الكائن في الذات نفسها، فبأي عملٍ خارجيٍّ محضٍ أو اعتياديٍّ يستطيع تاجرٌ أن يبلغ السعادة الحقّة؟
चुलाधार उवाच
Educational Q&A
True happiness is not secured by outward ritual action—especially acts involving harm—but by the ‘ātma-tīrtha’, the inner sacred discipline of self-purification and right understanding. If even animals cannot access the inner sanctity that makes a sacrifice meaningful, then mere external performance cannot by itself yield genuine sukha.
Cūlādhāra addresses a merchant and challenges a ritual-centered view of merit. He contrasts external sacrificial rites (makha), associated with animals, with the inward ‘pilgrimage of the Self’ (ātma-tīrtha), implying that ethical inner transformation is the real path to well-being.