Shloka 67
तीर्थवंशोपदेशः
Tīrtha-vaṃśa Upadeśa: Instruction on the Fruits of Sacred Waters
पाषण्डा दूषकाश्चैव समयानां च दूषका: । ये प्रत्यवसिता श्चैव ते वै निरयगामिन:
pāṣaṇḍā dūṣakāś caiva samayānāṃ ca dūṣakāḥ | ye pratyavasitāś caiva te vai nirayagāminaḥ ||
Bhīṣma sprach: Ketzer, Verleumder, jene, die die festgesetzten religiösen Observanzen verderben oder ihnen entgegenstehen, und jene, die, nachdem sie einst feierlich entsagt haben, wieder in das Hausleben zurückkehren—sie gehen wahrlich zur Hölle.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse warns that undermining dharma—through heretical conduct, malicious criticism, corrupting religious observances, or breaking the integrity of a renunciant vow by reverting to household life—leads to severe moral consequence (naraka). It emphasizes fidelity to vows and protection of religious-social discipline.
In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and right conduct. Here he lists categories of behavior seen as destructive to religious order and vows, stating their karmic outcome as hell-boundness.