Shloka 13
तपःस्वाध्यायशीला हि दृश्यन्ते धार्मिका जना: । ऋषयस्तपसा युक्ता येषां लोका: सनातना:,उत्तरेण तु पन्थानमार्या विषयनिग्रहात् | अबुद्धिजं तमस्त्यक्त्वा लोकांस्त्यागवतां गता:
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca |
Tapaḥsvādhyāyaśīlā hi dṛśyante dhārmikā janāḥ |
Ṛṣayas tapasā yuktā yeṣāṃ lokāḥ sanātanāḥ |
Uttareṇa tu panthānam āryā viṣayanigrahāt |
Abuddhijaṃ tamas tyaktvā lokāṃs tyāgavatāṃ gatāḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Indeed, righteous people are seen to be devoted to austerity and to sacred study (svādhyāya). The seers (ṛṣis), disciplined by tapas, attain worlds that are everlasting. And the noble take the higher path through restraint of the senses; casting off the darkness born of ignorance, they reach the realms of those who live by renunciation.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is strengthened by disciplined practice—tapas and svādhyāya—and perfected through viṣayanigraha (sense-restraint). By abandoning ignorance-born darkness, one becomes fit for the ‘higher path’ and the renunciant’s goal, described as enduring realms and spiritual elevation.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-oriented setting, Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on what marks truly dhārmika persons: their commitment to austerity and sacred learning, the example of ṛṣis who attain lasting worlds, and the superior course of the āryas who conquer the senses and move toward renunciation.