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 ||
ভীষ্মে ক’লে— ৰাজন! যিসকলে পনৰ দিন বা এক মাহ উপবাস কৰাকেই তপ বুলি ভাবে, সিহঁতে বৃথাই নিজৰ দেহক কষ্ট দিয়ে। এনেকুৱা স্বেচ্ছাচাৰী আৰু আত্মঘাতী ব্যক্তি ন তপস্বী, ন ধৰ্মজ্ঞ।
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.