Shloka 12

नारद–असित (देवल) संवादः — भूतप्रभवाप्यय, इन्द्रिय-गुण-विवेक, क्षेत्रज्ञ-तत्त्व

Devanagari script

कपिल उवाच नाहं वेदान्‌ विनिन्दामि न विवक्ष्यामि कहिचित्‌ | पृथगाश्रमिणां कर्माण्येकार्थानीति न: श्रुतम्‌

Transliteration

kapila uvāca nāhaṃ vedān vinindāmi na vivakṣyāmi kahicit | pṛthagāśramiṇāṃ karmāṇy ekārthānīti naḥ śrutam |

Translation

Kapila dit : «Je ne dénigre pas les Veda, et je ne prétends jamais qu’ils enseignent ce qui est contraire. Nous avons entendu que les devoirs accomplis dans les différents āśrama—bien que distincts dans leur forme—sont tous dirigés vers un seul et même but.»

Word by Word

• {'kapila uvāca': 'Kapila said', 'na': 'not', 'aham (nāham)': 'I', 'vedān': 'the Vedas (sacred revelations)', 'vinindāmi': 'I censure, I disparage', 'vivakṣyāmi': 'I will declare/say

• I will assert', 'kahicit': 'at any time

• ever', 'pṛthak': 'separately

• distinct', 'āśramiṇām': 'of those belonging to the āśramas (life-stages/disciplinary orders)', 'karmāṇi': 'acts, duties, prescribed practices', 'eka-arthāni': 'having one aim/purport

• oriented to a single end', 'iti': 'thus', 'naḥ': 'by us

• to us', 'śrutam': 'heard

Speaker

कपिल उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Kapila
• Vedas
• Āśramas (life-stages/orders)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Kapila affirms respect for Vedic authority while teaching that the diverse duties of the different āśramas are not mutually opposed; they converge toward a single overarching aim—spiritual fulfillment and right order (dharma) culminating in the highest good.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Kapila speaks as a teacher clarifying that his message is not anti-Vedic. He frames his discussion as harmonizing the various life-stage disciplines (āśramas) by emphasizing their shared ultimate purpose.