Shloka 16
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
एवं क्रोशत्सु वेदेषु कुतो मोक्षो5स्ति कस्यचित् | ऋणदवनन््तो यदा मर्त्या: पितृदेवद्विजातिषु
evaṁ krośatsu vedeṣu kuto mokṣo 'sti kasyacit | ṛṇadavantō yadā martyāḥ pitṛdeva-dvijātiṣu ||
কপিল বললেন—যখন বেদ বারবার উচ্চস্বরে ঘোষণা করে যে মানুষ জন্ম থেকেই পিতৃগণ, দেবগণ ও দ্বিজ ঋষিদের কাছে ঋণী, তখন গৃহস্থাশ্রমে থেকে সেই ঋণ শোধ না করে কারই বা মোক্ষ হতে পারে?
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation is not presented as a shortcut that bypasses social and sacred obligations: the verse stresses that humans are born with debts to gods (through worship/sacrifice), ancestors (through progeny and ancestral rites), and Vedic seers/teachers (through study and transmission). Neglecting these while seeking mokṣa is criticized.
Kapila is arguing within a dharma-discussion in the Śānti Parva, invoking the Vedas as authoritative witnesses. He challenges the idea of attaining mokṣa while remaining a householder who has not discharged the traditional obligations owed to devas, pitṛs, and the twice-born sages.