Shloka 3
आचारप्रशंसा
Praise of Ācāra as the Basis of Longevity, Fame, and Prosperity
तपसा ब्रह्मचर्येण जपहोमैस्तथौषधै: । कर्मणा मनसा वाचा तने ब्रूहि पितामह,पितामह! मनुष्य मन, वाणी अथवा शरीरके द्वारा तप, ब्रह्मचर्य, जप, होम तथा औषध आदिमेंसे किसका आश्रय ले, जिससे वह श्रेयका भागी हो, वह मुझे बताइये
tapasā brahmacaryeṇa japahomais tathauṣadhaiḥ | karmaṇā manasā vācā tvaṁ me brūhi pitāmaha ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “By austerity, by celibate discipline, by recitation and sacrificial offerings, and likewise by medicinal means—through action, through the mind, and through speech—tell me, O Grandfather, what a human being should chiefly rely upon so that he may become a sharer in the highest good.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry: which disciplines—asceticism, celibate restraint, mantra-recitation, fire-offering, or medicinal/remedial means—when practiced through deed, thought, and speech, most effectively lead a person to śreyas (the highest good). It emphasizes that spiritual progress is evaluated across the three channels of human agency: body (karma), mind (manas), and speech (vāc).
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira seeks instruction on dharma from the elder Bhīṣma (addressed as Pitāmaha). Here he asks Bhīṣma to clarify what practices a person should rely upon—across action, intention, and speech—to attain true welfare and moral-spiritual excellence.