Shloka 45
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
नौर्नावीव निबद्धा हि स्रोतसा सनिबन्धना । ह्वियमाणा कथं विप्र कुबुद्धींस्तारयिष्यति । एतद् ब्रवीतु भगवानुपपन्नो<5स्म्यधीहि भो:,जैसे एक जगह जानेवाली नावमें दूसरी जगह जानेवाली नाव बाँध दी जाय तो वह जलके स्रोतससे अपहृत हो किसीको गन्तव्य स्थानतक नहीं पहुँचा सकती, उसी प्रकार पूर्वजन्मके कर्मोकी वासनासे बँधी हुई हमारी कर्ममयी नौका हम कुबुद्धि पुरुषोंको कैसे भवसागरसे पार उतारेगी? भगवन्! यह आप मुझे बताइये, मैं आपकी शरणमें आया हूँ, आप मुझे उपदेश दीजिये
naur nāvīva nibaddhā hi srotasā sanibandhanā | hviyamāṇā kathaṃ vipra kubuddhīṃs tārayiṣyati | etad bravītu bhagavān upapanno 'smy adhīhi bhoḥ ||
A boat, if it is tied to another boat that is itself being carried off by the current, cannot take anyone to the intended shore. In the same way, our “boat” of action—bound by the latent impressions (vāsanā) of deeds from former births and swept along by the stream—how can it ferry us, men of misguided understanding, across the ocean of becoming (bhava-sāgara)? O Blessed One, tell me this: I have come to you for refuge; instruct me.
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kapila uses a boat-and-current metaphor to show that action driven by past karmic impressions (vāsanā) and deluded understanding cannot by itself deliver liberation. One must seek right knowledge and proper guidance—hence the request for instruction from the ‘Bhagavān’—so that the means of crossing is not itself dragged by the stream of saṃsāra.
In a didactic dialogue within Śānti Parva, Kapila addresses a brahmin interlocutor and argues that ordinary karmic striving, bound to prior tendencies, is like a boat tied to another boat being swept away: it cannot reach the destination. He then turns to the revered teacher (‘Bhagavān’) and asks for decisive instruction, presenting himself as one who has come for refuge and guidance.