Shloka 273
अध्यात्म-तत्त्व-निर्णयः
Adhyātma Taxonomy: Elements, Faculties, and Guṇas
नैवान्तं कारणस्थेयाद् यद्यपि स्यान्मनोजव: । यदि कोई धनुषसे छूटे हुए बाणके समान अथवा मनके सदृश तीव्र वेगसे निरन्तर दौड़ता रहे तो भी जगत्के कारणस्वरूप उस परमेश्वरका अन्त नहीं पा सकता
naivāntaṃ kāraṇastheyād yadyapi syān manojavaḥ |
Vyāsa said: Even if one were to run unceasingly with the speed of the mind—like an arrow released from a bow—one still cannot reach the limit of that Supreme Lord who is the causal ground of the universe.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The Supreme Reality that is the cause of the universe is limitless; no amount of rapid striving or worldly capability can ‘reach’ or exhaust it. The ethical implication is humility and the turn toward right understanding and dharmic living rather than pride in power or speed.
Vyāsa is instructing the listener within the Śānti Parva’s reflective discourse, using vivid comparisons (mind-speed, an arrow shot from a bow) to emphasize the impossibility of finding the ‘end’ of the cosmic cause—Paramēśvara—through mere motion or effort.