Shloka 16
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
एवं क्रोशत्सु वेदेषु कुतो मोक्षो5स्ति कस्यचित् | ऋणदवनन््तो यदा मर्त्या: पितृदेवद्विजातिषु
evaṁ krośatsu vedeṣu kuto mokṣo 'sti kasyacit | ṛṇadavantō yadā martyāḥ pitṛdeva-dvijātiṣu ||
कपिल ने कहा—जब वेद बार-बार पुकारकर कहते हैं कि मनुष्य पितरों, देवताओं और द्विज ऋषियों के प्रति जन्म से ही ऋणी हैं, तब गृहस्थ-आश्रम में रहकर उन ऋणों को चुकाए बिना किसी को मोक्ष कैसे हो सकता है?
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Liberation is not presented as a shortcut that bypasses social and sacred obligations: the verse stresses that humans are born with debts to gods (through worship/sacrifice), ancestors (through progeny and ancestral rites), and Vedic seers/teachers (through study and transmission). Neglecting these while seeking mokṣa is criticized.
Kapila is arguing within a dharma-discussion in the Śānti Parva, invoking the Vedas as authoritative witnesses. He challenges the idea of attaining mokṣa while remaining a householder who has not discharged the traditional obligations owed to devas, pitṛs, and the twice-born sages.