Shloka 23
तपसा तदवाप्रोति यद्धूतं सूजते जगत् | स तद्धूतश्व सर्वेषां भूतानां भवति प्रभु:,तपस्यासे वह उस परमात्मसत्ताको भी प्राप्त कर लेता है, जिससे इस जगत्की सृष्टि होती है। तपसे परमात्मस्वरूप होकर मनुष्य समस्त प्राणियोंपर अपना प्रभुत्व स्थापित करता है
tapasā tad avāpnoti yad dhūtaṃ sūjate jagat | sa tad dhūtaś ca sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ bhavati prabhuḥ ||
Vyāsa said: By austerity one attains that purified, subtle principle from which the world is brought forth. Having become identified with that purified state through tapas, a person becomes masterful—gaining lordship over all beings.
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Tapas (disciplined austerity) purifies the practitioner and leads to realization of the subtle, purified source-principle from which the cosmos arises; from such inner purification comes true mastery—first over oneself, and consequently an authoritative influence over beings.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa states a general doctrine: austerity is not mere hardship but a transformative purification that grants access to the causal principle of creation and yields spiritual sovereignty (prabhutva).