Shloka 4
Gratitude, Discernment, and the Escalation of Power (Śvā–Dvipī–Vyāghra–Nāga–Siṃha–Śarabha Itihāsa)
दीक्षादमपर: शान्तः स्वाध्यायपरम: शुचि: । उपवासविशुद्धात्मा सततं सच्त्वमास्थित:,वे उत्तम व्रतकी दीक्षा लेकर इन्द्रियसंयम और मनोनिग्रह करते हुए प्रतिदिन पवित्रभावसे वेद-शास्त्रोंके स्वाध्यायमें लगे रहते थे। उपवाससे उनका अन्त:करण शुद्ध हो गया था। वे सदा सत्त्वगुणमें स्थित थे
bhīṣma uvāca |
dīkṣā-dama-paraḥ śāntaḥ svādhyāya-paramaḥ śuciḥ |
upavāsa-viśuddhātmā satataṁ sattvam āsthitaḥ ||
Bhishma said: “He was devoted to consecrated discipline (dīkṣā) and self-restraint, tranquil in mind, and supremely committed to sacred study (svādhyāya), living in purity. Through fasting his inner being became cleansed, and he remained continually established in the quality of sattva.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Ethical excellence is portrayed as a disciplined life: vows (dīkṣā), sense-restraint (dama), inner calm (śānti), continual scriptural study (svādhyāya), and purification through fasting (upavāsa), culminating in steady establishment in sattva (clarity and goodness).
In Bhishma’s discourse in the Śānti Parva, he describes an exemplary person’s conduct—highlighting their vows, restraint, purity, fasting, and constant dedication to Vedic study—as a model of dharmic character.