Shloka 16
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
एवं क्रोशत्सु वेदेषु कुतो मोक्षो5स्ति कस्यचित् | ऋणदवनन््तो यदा मर्त्या: पितृदेवद्विजातिषु,वे ही वेद-मन्त्र जब पुकार-पुकारकर कहते हैं कि मनुष्य देवताओं, पितरों और ऋषियोंके जन्मसे ही ऋणी होते हैं, तब गृहस्थाश्रममें रहकर उन ऋणोंको चुकाये बिना किसीका भी मोक्ष कैसे हो सकता है?
evaṁ krośatsu vedeṣu kuto mokṣo 'sti kasyacit | ṛṇadavantō yadā martyāḥ pitṛdeva-dvijātiṣu ||
Kapila said: “When the Vedas themselves cry out again and again that human beings are born burdened with debts—to the gods, to the ancestors, and to the twice-born sages—how can anyone attain liberation at all, if one remains in the householder’s life without first repaying those obligations?”
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.