Shloka 34

तृष्णाक्षय-उपदेशः

Instruction on the Cessation of Craving

Devanagari script

नान्तरेणानुजानन्ति दानयज्ञक्रियाफलम्‌ | अविज्ञाय च तत्‌ सर्वमन्यद्‌ रोचयते फलम्‌

Transliteration

nāntareṇānujānanti dānayajñakriyāphalam | avijñāya ca tat sarvam anyad rocayate phalam

Translation

Капила сказал: Без внутреннего понимания люди не распознают поистине плода даров, жертвоприношений и обрядовых деяний. И не постигнув всей этой истины, они начинают предпочитать иной «результат», принимая малые внешние выгоды за подлинный духовный итог.

Word by Word

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• antareṇa: without
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: antareṇa

• anujānanti: they approve/accept
• Type: Verb
• Root: anu-√jñā
• Form: Lat, Parasmaipada, 3, Plural, Kartari

• dāna-yajña-kriyā-phalam: the fruit/result of gifts, sacrifices, and rites
• dāna-yajña-kriyā-phalam: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala (with members: dāna, yajña, kriyā)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• avijñāya: not knowing / without understanding
• Type: Verb
• Root: a-vi-√jñā
• Form: Ktva (absolutive/gerund), Kartari

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca

• tat: that
• tat: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• sarvam: all, entire
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sarva
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• anyat: other (thing)
• anyat: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: anya
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• rocayate: he/she/it prefers; finds pleasing
• Type: Verb
• Root: √ruc
• Form: Lat, Atmanepada, 3, Singular, Kartari

• phalam: fruit, result
• phalam: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: phala
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

कपिल उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Kapila

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Rituals like charity, sacrifice, and prescribed acts yield their true ‘fruit’ only when grounded in inner understanding; without that insight, people chase and celebrate inferior, external results.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Kapila’s discourse in the Śānti Parva, he critiques mere outward religiosity: those who do not grasp the deeper principle behind dharmic acts misunderstand their real outcome and become attached to other, lesser rewards.