Shloka 4
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
भीष्म उवाच मासार्धमासोपवासाद् यत् तपो मन्यते जन: । आत्मतन्त्रोपघाती यो न तपस्वी न धर्मवित्
bhīṣma uvāca māsa-ardha-māsa-upavāsād yat tapo manyate janaḥ | ātma-tantro-paghātī yo na tapasvī na dharma-vit ||
قال بهيشما: «أيها الملك، إنّ من يظنّ أنّ الزهد (التبس) ليس إلا صومَ نصفِ شهرٍ أو شهرٍ إنما يعذّب جسده عبثًا. ومن كان يتبع هواه ويهلك نفسه على هذا النحو فليس بزاهدٍ حقًّا ولا بعارفٍ بالدارما.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that austerity is not simply prolonged fasting; without right understanding and disciplined purpose, such fasting becomes self-harm and does not make one a true ascetic or a knower of dharma.
In the Anushasana Parva, Bhishma instructs King Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he critiques the popular notion that a fortnight- or month-long fast by itself constitutes tapas, emphasizing ethical discernment over mere bodily mortification.