Shloka 9
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
यास्तु स्युर्बर्हिरोषध्यो बहिरन्यास्तथाद्रिजा: । ओषधिभ्यो बहिर्यस्मात् प्राणात् वक्रिन्न दृश्यते
yās tu syur barhi-roṣadhyo bahir anyās tathādrijāḥ | oṣadhibhyo bahir yasmāt prāṇād vakrinn(a) dṛśyate ||
Kapila dit : «Qu’il s’agisse des herbes et plantes du sacrifice, d’autres simples qui poussent hors des villages, ou de celles qui naissent sur les montagnes—quelles que soient les formes de végétation, on n’en voit aucune se tenir à l’écart du souffle vital qui les soutient. Car toutes les plantes ont leur racine dans le prāṇa lui-même ; au-delà de ce principe de vie, rien de vivant ne se trouve.»
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kapila emphasizes that all vegetation—whether sacrificial grasses, wild herbs, or mountain plants—depends on prāṇa (the sustaining life-principle). Nothing living is perceived as existing independently of that vital basis.
In the Śānti Parva’s Kapila discourse, Kapila is explaining the foundations of life and sustenance, using plants and sacrificial materials as examples to show the dependence of all living growth on the underlying principle of prāṇa.