Shloka 13
धर्मसूक्ष्मे त्यागप्रधान्यविचारः
Subtle Dharma and the Primacy of Renunciation
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 dijo: «En verdad, se ve a los hombres rectos entregados a la austeridad y al estudio sagrado (svādhyāya). Los ṛṣi, disciplinados por el tapas, alcanzan mundos imperecederos. Y los nobles toman el sendero superior mediante el dominio de los sentidos; arrojando la oscuridad nacida de la ignorancia, llegan a las moradas de quienes viven en renuncia.»
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.