Śivasaṃhitā 1.8

After the catalogue of divergent opinions, this verse draws its conclusion: the multiplicity of paths produces not clarity but moha (confusion, delusion). The nuance is striking—even the kṛtyākṛtyavidaḥ, those who correctly distinguish between what should and should not be done, fall into bewilderment. Ethical knowledge alone is insufficient for liberation.

Vyavasita («committed to», «firmly established in») derives from vi-ava-so (to settle, to resolve firmly), carrying the irony that steadfastness in a partial path may be precisely what prevents seeing the whole. Kṛtyākṛtyavid is a compound of kṛtya (what ought to be done), akṛtya (what ought not to be done), and vid (the one who knows).

This verse marks the dramatic turn of the chapter: doctrinal diversity is presented not as richness but as a source of bewilderment (vyāmoha). The Śivasaṃhitā here adopts a radical epistemological stance close to Advaita Vedānta: fragmented knowledge, even when morally correct, perpetuates saṃsāra.