Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 59
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
नाभागेनाम्बरीषेण गयेन च महात्मना । आयुनाथानरण्येन दिलीपरघुपूरुभि:
nābhāgenāmbarīṣeṇa gayena ca mahātmanā | āyunāthānaraṇyena dilīparaghupūrubhiḥ |
Bhīṣma said: “O son of Kuntī, kings such as Nābhāga, Ambarīṣa, the great-souled Gaya, Āyu, Anaraṇya, Dilīpa, Raghu, and Pūru—who undertook the vow of abstaining from meat during both fortnights of the month of Āśvina (or even during one)—became, as it were, identified with the Self of all beings, and attained knowledge of the highest and the lowest principles (parāvara).”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that disciplined restraint—here, abstaining from meat during a sacred period—purifies conduct and mind, leading to expanded compassion toward all beings and culminating in higher spiritual insight (knowledge of parāvara-tattva).
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, he cites exemplary kings who observed a specific vow in the month of Āśvina. Their ethical self-restraint is presented as the cause of profound spiritual attainment and universal identification with the Self of all beings.