Shloka 11
Ātma-saṃyama-dharma: One-pointedness of Mind and Senses (शुक–व्यास संवादः)
इत्येतच्छोतुमिच्छामि प्रमाणं तूभयं कथम् । कर्मणामविरोधेन कथं मोक्ष: प्रवर्तते
ity etac chrotum icchāmi pramāṇaṁ tūbhayaṁ katham | karmaṇām avirodhena kathaṁ mokṣaḥ pravartate ||
须迦说：“我愿明白听闻：为何这两者都可为权威——一为行事之命令，一为舍事之命令？若它们看似相互抵牾，凭何理据应当承认为论典之证（śāstra-pramāṇa）？并且，不与既定职责之域相对立，解脱又如何得以发生？”
शुक उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a central śāstric problem: Vedic teachings sometimes prescribe action (karma, duties/rites) and elsewhere praise renunciation. Śuka asks how both can be valid authorities and how liberation can arise without contradicting the domain of duty—inviting a reconciliation such as differing contexts/eligibilities, stages of life, or inner renunciation while outwardly performing duty.
Śuka, in dialogue with his father (traditionally Vyāsa), requests clarification on an apparent contradiction in scripture: ‘perform action’ versus ‘abandon action.’ He seeks an interpretive principle that preserves the authority of both and a practical account of how mokṣa is attained without rejecting prescribed conduct.