Shloka 39
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
स्यूमरश्मिरुवाच यथा च वेदप्रामाण्यं त्यागश्न सफलो यथा । तौ पन्थानावुभौ व्यक्तौ भगवंस्तद् वदस्व मे
syūmarśmir uvāca | yathā ca vedaprāmāṇyaṃ tyāgaś ca phalo yathā | tau panthānāv ubhau vyaktau bhagavaṃs tad vadasva me ||
قال سْيُومَرْشْمِي: «أيها المبجَّل، بيّن لي: كيف تُصان حجّية الفيدا وهي تُعلِّم طريقين واضحين يبدوان متعارضين—أحدهما يأمر بالفعل: “اعمل الكارما”، والآخر يأمر بالترك: “اترك الكارما”؟ وبأي وجهٍ يصير التخلّي (تياغا) مثمرًا حقًّا؟»
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a classic Mahābhārata problem of reconciliation: the Veda appears to authorize both pravṛtti (engagement in prescribed action) and nivṛtti (withdrawal/renunciation). The core issue is how both can be valid without contradiction, and what makes tyāga genuinely effective—typically implying renunciation grounded in right understanding and freedom from attachment rather than mere abandonment.
In the Śānti Parva’s Kapila-related discourse, the interlocutor Syūmarśmi respectfully questions the sage about two apparently opposing Vedic instructions—performing duties versus renouncing action—and asks for a clear explanation of how Vedic authority stands and how renunciation yields its intended spiritual result.