Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 68
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
तत्त्वं वदस्व मे ब्रह्मुन्नुपसन्नो 5स्म्यधीहि भो: । यथा ते विदितो मोक्षस्तथेच्छाम्युपशिक्षितुम्
tattvaṃ vadasva me brahmann upasanno 'smy adhīhi bhoḥ | yathā te vidito mokṣas tathecchāmy upaśikṣitum, brahman ||
कपिल बोले—हे ब्रह्मन्, मुझे तत्त्व का उपदेश दीजिए। मैं शिष्यभाव से आपकी शरण में आया हूँ; कृपा करके मुझे सिखाइए। आपको मोक्ष का जैसा ज्ञान है, वैसा ही मैं भी सीखना चाहता हूँ।
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse establishes the prerequisite for liberating knowledge: humble discipleship and a direct request for tattva (ultimate reality) and mokṣa (liberation). It frames mokṣa as a knowable truth transmitted through instruction from one who has realized it.
Kapila addresses a revered Brahman-teacher, declaring that he has approached as a disciple and asking to be taught the same understanding of liberation that the teacher possesses, setting up a philosophical instruction on mokṣa.