Mahabharata 3.201.99 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 99
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
ये पापानि न कुर्वन्ति मनोवाक्कर्मबुद्धिभि: । ते तपन्ति महात्मानो न शरीरस्य शोषणम्
ye pāpāni na kurvanti manovākkarmabuddhibhiḥ | te tapanti mahātmāno na śarīrasya śoṣaṇam ||
Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «De veras practican la austeridad aquellos magnánimos que no cometen pecado con la mente, la palabra, la acción ni el entendimiento. La austeridad no es sólo marchitar el cuerpo.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True tapas is ethical restraint and purity across mind, speech, action, and discernment; mere physical mortification or emaciation is not the essence of austerity.
In the Vana Parva’s reflective discourse, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a dharma-centered definition of austerity, shifting emphasis from external bodily hardship to inner moral discipline.
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