Shloka 3
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
भीष्मजीने कहा--युधिष्छिर! जो वेदोक्त व्रतका पालन नहीं करते, वे ब्राह्मणकी इच्छापूर्तिके लिये श्राद्धमें भोजन कर सकते हैं; किंतु जो वैदिक व्रतका पालन कर रहे हों, वे यदि किसीके अनुरोधसे श्राद्धका अन्न ग्रहण करते हैं तो उनका व्रत भंग हो जाता है ।। युधिछ्िर उवाच यदिदं तप इत्याहुरुपवासं पृथग्जना: । तप: स्यादेतदेवेह तपो<न्यद् वापि कि भवेत्,युधिष्ठिरने पूछा--पितामह! साधारण लोग जो उपवासको ही तप कहा करते हैं, उसके सम्बन्धमें आपकी क्या धारणा है? मैं यह जानना चाहता हूँ कि वास्तवमें उपवास ही तप है या उसका और कोई स्वरूप है
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | yad idaṃ tapa ity āhur upavāsaṃ pṛthagjanāḥ | tapaḥ syād etad eveha tapo 'nyad vāpi kiṃ bhavet ||
Bhīṣma said: “O Yudhiṣṭhira! Those who do not observe a Veda-grounded vow may eat the śrāddha food to fulfill a Brahmin’s wish; but those who are keeping a Vedic vow, if they accept śrāddha food at anyone’s request, their vow is broken.” Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Grandfather, ordinary people call fasting (upavāsa) itself ‘austerity’ (tapas). What is your view of this? I wish to know whether fasting alone is truly tapas here, or whether there is some other form of tapas as well.”
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry: whether austerity (tapas) should be reduced to mere fasting, or understood more broadly as disciplined self-restraint and right conduct. Yudhiṣṭhira invites Bhīṣma to define tapas beyond popular assumptions.
During Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira asks a clarifying question about religious practice: people commonly equate tapas with fasting, and he seeks Bhīṣma’s authoritative explanation of what truly constitutes austerity.