Shloka 67
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
नास्तिक्यमन्यथा च स्याद् वेदानां पृष्ठत: क्रिया । एतस्यानन्त्यमिच्छामि भगवन् श्रोतुमञण्जसा,यदि कर्मकाण्डको व्यर्थ समझकर छोड़ दिया जाय तो यह नास्तिकता और वेदोंकी अवहेलना होगी; अतः भगवन्! मैं यह सुनना चाहता हूँ कि कर्मकाण्ड किस प्रकार सुगमतापूर्वक मोक्षका साधक होगा?
nāstikyam anyathā ca syād vedānāṁ pṛṣṭhataḥ kriyā | etasyānantyam icchāmi bhagavan śrotum añjasā |
নচেৎ সেয়া নাস্তিকতা হ’ব, আৰু বেদৰ প্ৰতি অবহেলা—যেন কৰ্মক বেদৰ ‘পিছফালে’ ঠেলি দিয়া হ’ল। সেয়ে, ভগৱন, মই ইয়াৰ অনন্ত তাত্পৰ্য স্পষ্টকৈ শুনিব বিচাৰোঁ—বেদবিহিত কৰ্মকাণ্ডক ব্যৰ্থ বুলি নধৰি, তাক মোক্ষসাধন ৰূপে কেনেকৈ বুজিব লাগে?
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames rejection of Vedic ritual discipline (kriyā/karma-kāṇḍa) as sliding toward nāstikya—denial of Vedic authority. It asks for a clear account of how ritual action, properly understood, can still have a legitimate role on the path to liberation rather than being dismissed as pointless.
In the Shānti Parva’s philosophical discourse, Kapila speaks to a revered interlocutor (“bhagavan”), raising a doctrinal concern: if one abandons the Vedic ritual portion as useless, it risks contempt for the Vedas. Kapila therefore requests a direct explanation of the deeper, ‘boundless’ rationale by which Vedic action can be reconciled with the pursuit of mokṣa.