Shloka 59

तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः

Instruction on the Cessation of Craving

Devanagari script

न प्रवृत्तिऋते शास्त्रात्‌ काचिदस्तीति निश्चय: । यदन्यद्‌ वेदवादेभ्यस्तदशास्त्रमिति श्रुति:,शास्त्रके बिना अर्थात्‌ शास्त्रकी आज्ञाका उल्लंघन करके कोई प्रवृत्ति सफल नहीं हो सकती, यह दविद्दानोंका निश्चय है। जो वैदिक वचनोंके विरुद्ध है, वह सब अशास्त्रीय है, ऐसा श्रुतिका कथन है

Transliteration

na pravṛttir ṛte śāstrāt kācid astīti niścayaḥ | yad anyad vedavādebhyaḥ tad aśāstram iti śrutiḥ ||

Translation

Kapila sprach: „Es ist ein feststehender Schluss, dass kein Handlungsweg gültig sein kann ohne die Leitung des Śāstra. Was immer den Aussprüchen des Veda widerspricht, ist nach der Śruti als nicht-schriftgemäß (aśāstra) zu betrachten.“

Word by Word

{'na''not', 'pravṛttiḥ': 'engagement in action

practical conduct', 'ṛte''without

apart from', 'śāstrāt''from śāstra

from authoritative teaching/scripture', 'kācid''any (at all)', 'asti': 'exists

is', 'iti''thus

so (quotative particle)', 'niścayaḥ''certainty

settled conclusion', 'yat''whatever which', 'anyat': 'other

divergent', 'vedavādebhyaḥ''from the Vedic statements/teachings', 'tat': 'that', 'aśāstram': 'non-scriptural

unauthorized', 'śrutiḥ''revealed scripture

Speaker

कपिल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kapila

Śāstra

Śruti

Veda

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Kapila asserts śāstra as the decisive standard for dharmic conduct: action (pravṛtti) becomes legitimate and fruitful only when aligned with scriptural injunctions, and anything contradicting Vedic revelation (śruti) is to be rejected as aśāstra.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instructional dialogue, Kapila is laying down a criterion for evaluating practices and doctrines: he distinguishes authorized conduct grounded in śāstra/śruti from unauthorized innovations that conflict with Vedic teaching.