Shloka 29

तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः

Instruction on the Cessation of Craving

Devanagari script

मोघान्यगुप्तद्वारस्य सर्वाण्येव भवन्त्युत । कि तस्य तपसा कार्य कि यज्ञेन किमात्मना,जिसके ये द्वार सुरक्षित नहीं हैं, उसके सारे शुभ-कर्म निष्फल होते हैं, ऐसे मनुष्यको तपस्या, यज्ञ तथा आत्मचिन्तनसे क्या लाभ हो सकता है?

Transliteration

moghāny aguptadvārasya sarvāṇy eva bhavanty uta | ki tasya tapasā kāryaṁ ki yajñena kim ātmanā ||

Translation

Капила говорит: у того, чьи «двери» не охраняемы, все добродетельные усилия оказываются тщетны. Какой же смысл тогда в аскезе, в жертвоприношении или даже во внутреннем созерцании, если нет самообуздания? Нравственный вывод таков: дисциплина чувств — основание, придающее духовным практикам подлинную действенность.

Word by Word

मोघानिfruitless, vain

अगुप्तद्वारस्यof one whose gates (senses) are unguarded

सर्वाणिall

एवindeed, only

भवन्तिbecome, turn out (to be)

उतand, also

किम्what?

तस्यof him/that

तपसाby/with austerity

कार्यम्purpose, use, benefit (to be achieved)

किम्what?

यज्ञेनby/with sacrifice

किम्what?

आत्मनाby/with the self (self-discipline/self-contemplation)

Speaker

कपिल उवाच

Characters & Entities

Kapila

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Spiritual practices like tapas (austerity), yajña (sacrifice), and even inner contemplation bear fruit only when the ‘doors’—commonly understood as the senses and avenues of conduct—are guarded through self-restraint. Without control, good deeds lose their efficacy.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Shanti Parva’s instructional dialogue, Kapila is presenting a moral-philosophical critique: he warns that external religious acts and even inward practices are undermined if a person does not discipline the senses and protect the mind from uncontrolled impulses.