Shloka 15
कपिलगोसंवादे गृहस्थ-त्यागधर्मयोः प्रमाण्यविचारः
Kapila–Cow Dialogue: Authority of Householder and Renunciant Dharmas
वने तपस्यतिष्ठत् स न च धर्ममवैक्षत । वर्षास्वाकाशशायी च हेमन्ते जलसंश्रय:
vane tapasyatiṣṭhat sa na ca dharmam avaikṣata | varṣāsv ākāśaśāyī ca hemante jalasaṃśrayaḥ ||
Dijo Bhishma: Permaneció en el bosque, firme en sus austeridades, y sin embargo no llegó a discernir el dharma. En la estación de las lluvias yacía expuesto bajo el cielo abierto, y en el invierno se refugiaba en el agua: practicaba una mortificación severa, pero sin la recta comprensión moral que da valor a la austeridad.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Austerity by itself is not sufficient; without clear perception of dharma (moral discernment and right purpose), even extreme ascetic practices can be spiritually and ethically hollow.
Bhīṣma describes an ascetic who performs harsh seasonal austerities—sleeping under the open sky in the rains and immersing in water in winter—yet fails to grasp or follow dharma, highlighting the gap between external practice and inner ethical understanding.