Shloka 87
Chapter 2: Sudarśana Upākhyāna — Atithi-Dharma and the Conquest of Mṛtyu
Gṛhastha-Vrata
पज्चभूतान्यतिक्रान्त: स्ववीर्याच्च मनोजव: । गृहस्थधर्मेणानेन कामक्रोधौ च ते जिती
pañcabhūtāny atikrāntaḥ svavīryāc ca manojavaḥ | gṛhasthadharmeṇānena kāmakrodhau ca te jitī ||
Dijo Bhīṣma: «Por tu propio valor, como si hubieras rebasado los cinco grandes elementos, te has vuelto veloz como la mente. Mediante la práctica del dharma del cabeza de familia, has vencido al deseo y a la ira».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma praises disciplined household life as a powerful spiritual-ethical training: by properly living gṛhastha-dharma one gains inner mastery, especially victory over kāma (desire) and krodha (anger), which are key obstacles to righteous conduct.
In Bhīṣma’s instruction within the Anuśāsana Parva, he addresses his listener with commendation, describing the listener’s exceptional vigor and mental swiftness, and attributing their moral victory over desire and anger to faithful practice of the householder’s duties.