Shloka 13
Nārada’s Darśana of Viśvarūpa Nārāyaṇa and the Caturmūrti Doctrine (नारदस्य नारायणदर्शनं चतुर्मूर्तिविचारश्च)
कि कार्य ब्राह्मणेनेह मोक्षार्थक्ष किमात्मक: । कथं च मोक्ष: प्राप्तव्यो ज्ञानेन तपसाथवा
kiṁ kāryaṁ brāhmaṇeneha mokṣārthaṁ ca kim-ātmakaḥ | kathaṁ ca mokṣaḥ prāptavyo jñānena tapasā athavā ||
Śuka dit : « En ce monde, quel est le devoir convenable d’un brāhmaṇa qui recherche la délivrance ? Quelle est la nature essentielle du mokṣa en tant que but humain ? Et par quels moyens cette délivrance doit-elle être obtenue — par la connaissance, ou par l’austérité ? »
शुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames the inquiry that guides the teaching: for one oriented to liberation, especially a brāhmaṇa devoted to spiritual aims, one must clarify (1) what duties or disciplines are appropriate, (2) what mokṣa truly is in essence, and (3) whether liberation is primarily attained through jñāna (realizing truth) or through tapas (purifying discipline).
Śuka, as the speaker, poses foundational questions about the path to liberation—asking about the right conduct for a liberation-seeker and the effective means to reach mokṣa—thereby setting up a doctrinal explanation in the surrounding discourse of the Śānti Parva.