Shloka 12
इत्युक्त: प्राह देवान् स न शक्तोडस्मि महीगतान् । दग्धुं तपो हि क्षीयेन्मे न शक््यामीति पार्थिव
ity uktaḥ prāha devān sa na śakto ’smi mahī-gatān | dagdhuṃ tapo hi kṣīyen me na śakyāmīti pārthiva ||
Bhīṣma sprach: So angesprochen, erwiderte er den Göttern: „O König, ich vermag die Asuras, die auf Erden wohnen, nicht zu verbrennen. Denn wenn ich sie verbrannte, würde meine Askese (tapas) geschmälert. Darum kann ich dies nicht tun.“
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when urged to use destructive power, an ascetic must guard tapas; restraint and preservation of spiritual merit can be a higher duty than punitive action.
After being requested by the gods to burn the earth-dwelling asuras, the sage (as indicated by the surrounding context) declines, explaining to the king that such an act would diminish his austerity, and so he is unable to undertake it.