Shloka 40
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
कपिल उवाच प्रत्यक्षमिह पश्यन्ति भवन्तः सत्पथे स्थिता: । प्रत्यक्ष तु किमत्रास्ति यद् भवन्त उपासते
kapila uvāca pratyakṣam iha paśyanti bhavantaḥ satpathe sthitāḥ | pratyakṣaṃ tu kim atrāsti yad bhavanta upāsate |
Kapila dit : «Ici même, à l’instant, vous qui demeurez établis sur la voie droite pouvez percevoir directement les fruits de la voie du yoga. Mais dites-moi : quel résultat immédiat et visible obtient-on ici du culte sacrificiel que vous poursuivez tout en restant sur la voie de l’action rituelle ?»
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kapila contrasts experiential, immediately verifiable spiritual progress (pratyakṣa) associated with yoga and inner discipline with the less directly observable results of ritual sacrifice, pressing the listener to examine what is truly known and ethically transformative in one’s practice.
In a didactic exchange in Śānti Parva, Kapila addresses practitioners who uphold a ‘true path’ and challenges their reliance on sacrificial worship by asking what tangible, present-life outcome it yields compared to the direct experiential fruits claimed for yoga.