Shloka 39
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
स्यूमरश्मिरुवाच यथा च वेदप्रामाण्यं त्यागश्न सफलो यथा । तौ पन्थानावुभौ व्यक्तौ भगवंस्तद् वदस्व मे,स्यूमरश्मिने कहा--भगवन्! “कर्म करो” और “कर्म छोड़ो” ये जो परस्परविरुद्ध दो स्पष्ट मार्ग हैं, इनका उपदेश करनेवाले वेदकी प्रामाणिकताका निर्वाह कैसे हो? तथा त्याग कैसे सफल होता है? यह आप मुझको बताइये
syūmarśmir uvāca | yathā ca vedaprāmāṇyaṃ tyāgaś ca phalo yathā | tau panthānāv ubhau vyaktau bhagavaṃs tad vadasva me ||
Syūmarśmi said: “Revered one, explain this to me: how is the authority of the Veda to be upheld when it teaches two clearly distinct and seemingly opposed paths—one that enjoins action (‘do karma’) and another that enjoins renunciation (‘give up karma’)? And in what way does renunciation become truly fruitful?”
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a classic Mahābhārata problem of reconciliation: the Veda appears to authorize both pravṛtti (engagement in prescribed action) and nivṛtti (withdrawal/renunciation). The core issue is how both can be valid without contradiction, and what makes tyāga genuinely effective—typically implying renunciation grounded in right understanding and freedom from attachment rather than mere abandonment.
In the Śānti Parva’s Kapila-related discourse, the interlocutor Syūmarśmi respectfully questions the sage about two apparently opposing Vedic instructions—performing duties versus renouncing action—and asks for a clear explanation of how Vedic authority stands and how renunciation yields its intended spiritual result.