Shloka 17

नारद–असित (देवल) संवादः — भूतप्रभवाप्यय, इन्द्रिय-गुण-विवेक, क्षेत्रज्ञ-तत्त्व

Devanagari script

यद्य॒त्र किंचित्‌ प्रत्यक्षमहिंसाया: परं मतम्‌ । ऋते त्वागमशास्त्रेभ्यो ब्रूहि तद्‌ यदि पश्यसि,वेदों और तदनुकूल आगमोंको छोड़कर अन्यत्र अहिंसासे भिन्न हिंसाबोधक शास्त्रका कोई फल यदि युक्तिसे भी प्रत्यक्ष दिखायी देनेवाला प्रतीत होता हो अथवा तुम अनुभवमें उसका साक्षात्कार कर रहे हो तो उसे स्पष्ट बताओ

Transliteration

yady atra kiñcit pratyakṣam ahiṁsāyāḥ paraṁ matam | ṛte tv āgamaśāstrebhyo brūhi tad yadi paśyasi ||

Translation

قال كابيلا: «إن كنتَ، بعيدًا عن تقاليد النصوص المقدّسة، تُبصر بعينك مذهبًا ظاهرًا يتجاوز مبدأ اللاعنف (أهِمْسا)، أو كنتَ تستطيع أن تُري ثمرةً محسوسةً تعد بها تعاليم تُجيز العنف—فاذكر ذلك صريحًا إن كنتَ تراه حقًّا.»

Word by Word

{'yadi''if', 'atra': 'here

in this matter', 'kiñcit''anything

any (even a little)', 'pratyakṣam''directly perceived

evident to experience', 'ahiṁsāyāḥ''of non-violence', 'param': 'higher

beyond', 'matam''view

considered opinion', 'ṛte''except

apart from', 'tu''but

indeed (emphatic particle)', 'āgamaśāstrebhyaḥ''from the āgamas and śāstras

from scriptural authorities', 'brūhi''tell

declare', 'tat''that', 'paśyasi': 'you see

Speaker

कपिल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kapila

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Non-violence is presented as the highest ethical standard; any claim that violence yields a superior good must be demonstrated through direct experience and sound reasoning, not merely asserted on the basis of scriptural citation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kapila is debating a moral and philosophical point: he challenges the other party to produce any observable, verifiable benefit of violence (or any doctrine higher than ahiṁsā) independent of appeals to āgama and śāstra, thereby pressing for experiential proof in ethical argument.