Shloka 29
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
मोघान्यगुप्तद्वारस्य सर्वाण्येव भवन्त्युत । कि तस्य तपसा कार्य कि यज्ञेन किमात्मना,जिसके ये द्वार सुरक्षित नहीं हैं, उसके सारे शुभ-कर्म निष्फल होते हैं, ऐसे मनुष्यको तपस्या, यज्ञ तथा आत्मचिन्तनसे क्या लाभ हो सकता है?
moghāny aguptadvārasya sarvāṇy eva bhavanty uta | ki tasya tapasā kāryaṁ ki yajñena kim ātmanā ||
Kapila says: For one whose “doors” are left unguarded, all virtuous efforts become fruitless. What purpose, then, is served by austerity, by sacrifice, or even by inward contemplation, if self-restraint is absent? The ethical point is that discipline of the senses is the foundation that gives spiritual practices their real efficacy.
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Spiritual practices like tapas (austerity), yajña (sacrifice), and even inner contemplation bear fruit only when the ‘doors’—commonly understood as the senses and avenues of conduct—are guarded through self-restraint. Without control, good deeds lose their efficacy.
In the Shanti Parva’s instructional dialogue, Kapila is presenting a moral-philosophical critique: he warns that external religious acts and even inward practices are undermined if a person does not discipline the senses and protect the mind from uncontrolled impulses.