Mahabharata — Shanti Parva, Shloka 50
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
ज्ञानं प्लावयते सर्व यो ज्ञान हानुवर्तते । ज्ञानादपेत्य या वृत्ति: सा विनाशयति प्रजा:
jñānaṁ plāvayate sarvaṁ yo jñānam anuvartate | jñānād apetyā yā vṛttiḥ sā vināśayati prajāḥ ||
Barangsiapa sungguh mengikuti pengetahuan, pengetahuan itu menyeberangkannya dengan selamat melampaui segala jerat ikatan duniawi. Namun jalan tindakan yang menyimpang dari pengetahuan menjerumuskan makhluk ke dalam kebinasaan, melemparkan mereka kembali ke putaran kelahiran dan kematian.
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
Kapila teaches that jñāna—true liberating knowledge—functions like a raft: one who follows it is carried beyond worldly bondage, while conduct divorced from knowledge leads to spiritual and existential ruin by perpetuating saṁsāra.
In Śānti Parva’s didactic discourse, Kapila is instructing about the supremacy of knowledge over mere action: adherence to knowledge liberates, whereas ignorant activity binds beings to repeated birth and death.