Shloka 1
Adhyāya 241: Guṇa-sṛṣṭi, Kṣetrajña-sākṣitva, and Śama through Ātma-jñāna (गुणसृष्टिः, क्षेत्रज्ञसाक्षित्वं, शमः)
अपन बक। है २ >> एकचत्वारिशर्दाधिकद्विशततमो< ध्याय: कर्म और ज्ञानका अन्तर तथा ब्रह्माप्राप्तिके उपायका वर्णन शुक उवाच यदिदं वेदवचनं कुरु कर्म त्यजेति च । कां दिशं विद्यया यान्ति कां च गच्छन्ति कर्मणा
Śuka uvāca: yad idaṃ vedavacanaṃ kuru karma tyajeti ca | kāṃ diśaṃ vidyayā yānti kāṃ ca gacchanti karmaṇā ||
Dijo Śuka: «Padre, en el Veda se encuentran dos clases de mandatos: “realiza la acción” y “renuncia a la acción”. Deseo comprender esto: cuando una persona abandona la acción mediante la vidyā (conocimiento), ¿hacia qué “dirección” o estado se encamina? Y al realizar la acción, ¿qué destino alcanza?»
शुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a classic Vedic tension: some passages enjoin ritual and duty (karma), while others praise renunciation (tyāga) grounded in knowledge (vidyā). Śuka asks how these two paths differ in their respective outcomes—worldly/heavenly attainments through action versus liberation-oriented attainment through knowledge.
Śuka, the son-disciple, questions his father (implicitly Vyāsa) about apparently conflicting Vedic instructions. He seeks a clear account of the ‘destinations’ reached by those who renounce action through knowledge and by those who pursue action as prescribed duty.