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 |
Dijo Bhīṣma: «Oh hijo de Kuntī, reyes como Nābhāga, Ambarīṣa, el magnánimo Gaya, Āyu, Anaraṇya, Dilīpa, Raghu y Pūru —que cumplieron el voto de abstenerse de carne en el mes de Āśvina durante ambas quincenas (o incluso durante una sola)— llegaron, por así decirlo, a identificarse con el Sí mismo de todos los seres y alcanzaron el conocimiento de los principios supremo y relativo (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.