Shloka 3
Adhyāya 262: Śabda-brahman, Para-brahman, and the Ethics of Tyāga
Kapila–Syūmaraśmi Saṃvāda
ततो यज्ञ: प्रभवति नास्तिक्यमपि जल्पसि । न हि वर्तेदयं लोको वार्तामुत्सृज्य केवलाम्
tato yajñaḥ prabhavati nāstikyam api jalpasi | na hi varted ayaṃ loko vārtām utsṛjya kevalām ||
Dari mata pencaharian dan kerja produktif itulah yajña dan tata-ritus penopang masyarakat lahir; namun engkau bahkan bertutur dengan bahasa ketidakpercayaan. Jika karena iba pada penderitaan hewan orang meninggalkan pertanian dan pekerjaan yang perlu sama sekali, maka kehidupan dunia ini takkan dapat berlangsung.
तुलाधार उवाच
Educational Q&A
Tulādhāra argues that society’s sustaining rites (yajña) depend on necessary livelihoods (vārttā). Ethical concern for harm must be balanced with the practical requirements that keep the world functioning; total abandonment of productive work would collapse social life.
In a dharma-discussion, Tulādhāra rebukes his interlocutor for speaking in a nāstika (denialist) manner and explains that if one rejects agriculture and other livelihoods due to concern for animal suffering, the world’s ordinary life and its sacrificial order would not continue.