Shloka 59

तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः

Instruction on the Cessation of Craving

Devanagari script

न प्रवृत्तिऋते शास्त्रात्‌ काचिदस्तीति निश्चय: । यदन्यद्‌ वेदवादेभ्यस्तदशास्त्रमिति श्रुति:

Transliteration

na pravṛttir ṛte śāstrāt kācid astīti niścayaḥ | yad anyad vedavādebhyaḥ tad aśāstram iti śrutiḥ ||

Translation

Kapila dit : «Il est établi qu’aucune voie d’action ne peut être légitime en dehors de la guidance du śāstra. Tout ce qui s’oppose aux déclarations du Veda doit, selon la śruti, être tenu pour non scripturaire (aśāstra).»

Word by Word

• {'na': 'not', 'pravṛttiḥ': 'engagement in action

• practical conduct', 'ṛte': 'without

• apart from', 'śāstrāt': 'from śāstra

• from authoritative teaching/scripture', 'kācid': 'any (at all)', 'asti': 'exists

• is', 'iti': 'thus

• so (quotative particle)', 'niścayaḥ': 'certainty

• settled conclusion', 'yat': 'whatever which', 'anyat': 'other

• divergent', 'vedavādebhyaḥ': 'from the Vedic statements/teachings', 'tat': 'that', 'aśāstram': 'non-scriptural

• unauthorized', 'śrutiḥ': 'revealed scripture

Speaker

कपिल उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Kapila
• Śāstra
• Śruti
• Veda

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Kapila asserts śāstra as the decisive standard for dharmic conduct: action (pravṛtti) becomes legitimate and fruitful only when aligned with scriptural injunctions, and anything contradicting Vedic revelation (śruti) is to be rejected as aśāstra.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instructional dialogue, Kapila is laying down a criterion for evaluating practices and doctrines: he distinguishes authorized conduct grounded in śāstra/śruti from unauthorized innovations that conflict with Vedic teaching.