Shloka 13
Vyāghra–Gomāyu Saṃvāda (व्याघ्रगोमायु संवाद) — Testing Character Beneath Appearances
श्मशाने यदि मे वास: समाधियमें निशम्यताम् | आत्मा फलति कर्माणि नाश्रमो धर्मकारणम्
śmaśāne yadi me vāsaḥ samādhir iyaṁ niśamyatām | ātmā phalati karmāṇi nāśramo dharmakāraṇam ||
“যদি আমার বাস শ্মশানে হয়, তবে এ বিষয়ে আমার সমাধান শোনো। আত্মাই কর্মকে ফলিত করে এবং শুভের দিকে প্রেরণা দেয়; কেবল আশ্রম বা বাহ্য অবস্থাই ধর্মের কারণ নয়।”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is grounded in the inner self—one’s intention, conscience, and moral agency. External status such as belonging to a particular āśrama does not automatically make one righteous; actions bear fruit through the self that chooses and sustains them.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on dharma and right conduct. Here he addresses a potential objection based on outward circumstances (even something as socially stigmatized as living near a cremation-ground) and asserts that true righteousness depends on inner disposition and ethical action, not merely on one’s formal life-stage or social-religious label.