Shloka 11
Ātma-saṃyama-dharma: One-pointedness of Mind and Senses (शुक–व्यास संवादः)
इत्येतच्छोतुमिच्छामि प्रमाणं तूभयं कथम् । कर्मणामविरोधेन कथं मोक्ष: प्रवर्तते
ity etac chrotum icchāmi pramāṇaṁ tūbhayaṁ katham | karmaṇām avirodhena kathaṁ mokṣaḥ pravartate ||
Śuka dit : « Je souhaite l’entendre clairement : comment ces deux injonctions peuvent-elles avoir autorité—celle d’agir et celle de renoncer à l’action ? Si elles paraissent s’opposer, par quel raisonnement doivent-elles être reçues comme témoignage de la śāstra ? Et de plus, sans se dresser contre le domaine des devoirs prescrits, comment la délivrance advient-elle ? »
शुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a central śāstric problem: Vedic teachings sometimes prescribe action (karma, duties/rites) and elsewhere praise renunciation. Śuka asks how both can be valid authorities and how liberation can arise without contradicting the domain of duty—inviting a reconciliation such as differing contexts/eligibilities, stages of life, or inner renunciation while outwardly performing duty.
Śuka, in dialogue with his father (traditionally Vyāsa), requests clarification on an apparent contradiction in scripture: ‘perform action’ versus ‘abandon action.’ He seeks an interpretive principle that preserves the authority of both and a practical account of how mokṣa is attained without rejecting prescribed conduct.