Shloka 12

नारद–असित (देवल) संवादः — भूतप्रभवाप्यय, इन्द्रिय-गुण-विवेक, क्षेत्रज्ञ-तत्त्व

Devanagari script

कपिल उवाच नाहं वेदान्‌ विनिन्दामि न विवक्ष्यामि कहिचित्‌ | पृथगाश्रमिणां कर्माण्येकार्थानीति न: श्रुतम्‌

Transliteration

kapila uvāca nāhaṃ vedān vinindāmi na vivakṣyāmi kahicit | pṛthagāśramiṇāṃ karmāṇy ekārthānīti naḥ śrutam |

Translation

Kapila berkata: “Aku tidak mencela Weda, dan tidak pernah mengklaim bahwa Weda mengajarkan hal yang bertentangan. Kami telah mendengar bahwa kewajiban-kewajiban dalam āśrama yang berbeda—meski berlainan bentuk—semuanya tertuju pada satu tujuan.”

Word by Word

• {'kapila uvāca': 'Kapila said', 'na': 'not', 'aham (nāham)': 'I', 'vedān': 'the Vedas (sacred revelations)', 'vinindāmi': 'I censure, I disparage', 'vivakṣyāmi': 'I will declare/say

• I will assert', 'kahicit': 'at any time

• ever', 'pṛthak': 'separately

• distinct', 'āśramiṇām': 'of those belonging to the āśramas (life-stages/disciplinary orders)', 'karmāṇi': 'acts, duties, prescribed practices', 'eka-arthāni': 'having one aim/purport

• oriented to a single end', 'iti': 'thus', 'naḥ': 'by us

• to us', 'śrutam': 'heard

Speaker

कपिल उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Kapila
• Vedas
• Āśramas (life-stages/orders)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Kapila affirms respect for Vedic authority while teaching that the diverse duties of the different āśramas are not mutually opposed; they converge toward a single overarching aim—spiritual fulfillment and right order (dharma) culminating in the highest good.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Śānti Parva’s instructional setting, Kapila speaks as a teacher clarifying that his message is not anti-Vedic. He frames his discussion as harmonizing the various life-stage disciplines (āśramas) by emphasizing their shared ultimate purpose.