Shloka 53
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
यस्तु वर्षशतं पूर्ण तपस्तप्येत् सुदारुणम् । यश्चैव वर्जयेन्मांसं सममेतन्मतं मम,जो मनुष्य सौ वर्षोतक कठोर तपस्या करता है तथा जो केवल मांसका परित्याग कर देता है--ये दोनों मेरी दृष्टिमें एक समान हैं
yastu varṣaśataṁ pūrṇaṁ tapastapyet sudāruṇam | yaścaiva varjayenmāṁsaṁ samametān mataṁ mama ||
যে ব্যক্তি পূর্ণ একশ বছর অত্যন্ত কঠোর তপস্যা করে এবং যে ব্যক্তি কেবল মাংস ত্যাগ করে—আমার মতে এ দু’জন সমান।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma equates a simple ethical restraint—abstaining from meat—with the merit of long, severe austerities, highlighting that dharmic self-control and non-violence in daily conduct can equal extraordinary ascetic feats.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Bhīṣma is advising on dharma and right conduct; here he offers a comparative valuation of practices, asserting that renouncing meat is as spiritually weighty as a century of harsh tapas.