Shloka 67
तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः
Instruction on the Cessation of Craving
नास्तिक्यमन्यथा च स्याद् वेदानां पृष्ठत: क्रिया । एतस्यानन्त्यमिच्छामि भगवन् श्रोतुमञण्जसा,यदि कर्मकाण्डको व्यर्थ समझकर छोड़ दिया जाय तो यह नास्तिकता और वेदोंकी अवहेलना होगी; अतः भगवन्! मैं यह सुनना चाहता हूँ कि कर्मकाण्ड किस प्रकार सुगमतापूर्वक मोक्षका साधक होगा?
nāstikyam anyathā ca syād vedānāṁ pṛṣṭhataḥ kriyā | etasyānantyam icchāmi bhagavan śrotum añjasā |
“De outro modo, isso equivaleria à incredulidade (nāstikya), e a ação ritual ficaria ‘por trás’ dos Vedas (isto é, relegada e desconsiderada). Por isso, ó Bem-aventurado, desejo ouvir com clareza e diretamente o alcance sem limites disso: como a disciplina ritual ensinada nos Vedas não deve ser descartada como inútil, mas compreendida como um meio genuíno rumo à libertação.”
कपिल उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames rejection of Vedic ritual discipline (kriyā/karma-kāṇḍa) as sliding toward nāstikya—denial of Vedic authority. It asks for a clear account of how ritual action, properly understood, can still have a legitimate role on the path to liberation rather than being dismissed as pointless.
In the Shānti Parva’s philosophical discourse, Kapila speaks to a revered interlocutor (“bhagavan”), raising a doctrinal concern: if one abandons the Vedic ritual portion as useless, it risks contempt for the Vedas. Kapila therefore requests a direct explanation of the deeper, ‘boundless’ rationale by which Vedic action can be reconciled with the pursuit of mokṣa.