Shloka 11
प्रजापतयः देवगणाश्च दिशि-दिशि स्थिताः ऋषयः
Prajāpatis, Deva-Groups, and the Ṛṣis Assigned to the Directions
इष्टं च मे स्यादितरच्च न स्या- देतत्कृते कर्मविधि: प्रवृत्त: । इष्ट त्वनिष्टं च न मां भजेते- त्येतत्कृते ज्ञानविधि: प्रवृत्त:
iṣṭaṃ ca me syāditaracca na syād etat-kṛte karma-vidhiḥ pravṛttaḥ | iṣṭa tv aniṣṭaṃ ca na māṃ bhajetety etat-kṛte jñāna-vidhiḥ pravṛttaḥ ||
毗湿摩说：“愿所欲归我，愿其余者（所不欲）不至——为此，祭仪之行（业之法度）被发动。然为使所欲与所不欲皆不系著于我——为此，知识之法度被发动。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Two distinct aims are contrasted: karma (prescribed action) is pursued to obtain the desired and avoid the undesired, whereas jñāna (wisdom) is taught so that one transcends both—becoming free from attachment to outcomes and from the dualities of pleasure and pain.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he explains, with reference to Manu’s viewpoint, why disciplines of action and knowledge are taught: action for managing worldly outcomes, and knowledge for liberation from outcome-dependence itself.