Shloka 42
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
इमं च संशयं घोरं भगवान प्रब्रवीतु मे । प्रत्यक्षमिह पश्यन्तो भवन्तः सत्यथे स्थिता: । किमत्र प्रत्यक्षतमं भवन्तो यदुपासते
imaṃ ca saṃśayaṃ ghoraṃ bhagavān prabravītu me | pratyakṣam iha paśyanto bhavantaḥ satyataye sthitāḥ | kim atra pratyakṣatamaṃ bhavanto yad upāsate ||
Kapila dit : «Que le Bienheureux dissipe pour moi ce doute redoutable. Vous qui voyez directement ici même et qui demeurez établis dans la vérité : en cette matière, quel est l’objet le plus immédiat de connaissance directe que vous vénérez et sur lequel vous vous appuyez ?»
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a key philosophical-ethical inquiry: among all claims about reality and religious practice, what is truly “most direct” (pratyakṣatama) and therefore worthy of reliance and worship. It prioritizes truth grounded in immediate insight over mere hearsay or speculation.
Kapila respectfully challenges a revered authority (“Bhagavān”) to dispel a grave doubt. He appeals to the interlocutors’ status as truth-abiding seers of direct experience and asks what they themselves uphold as the most evident object of contemplation or worship.