Shloka 2
संधेयासंधेय-पुरुषनिर्णयः (Criteria for Allies and Non-Allies) — with the opening of the Gautama narrative
प्रजापतिरिदं सर्व तपसैवासृजत् प्रभु: । तथैव वेदानृषयस्तपसा प्रतिपेदिरे,भगवान् प्रजापतिने तपसे ही इस समस्त संसारकी सृष्टि की है तथा ऋषियोंने तपसे ही वेदोंका ज्ञान प्राप्त किया है
prajāpatir idaṃ sarvaṃ tapasaivāsṛjat prabhuḥ | tathaiva vedān ṛṣayas tapasa pratipedire |
Bhīṣma dit : «Le Seigneur Prajāpati fit advenir ce monde entier par le seul tapas ; de même, les voyants atteignirent les Veda par le tapas.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Tapas—disciplined austerity and sustained inner effort—is portrayed as a foundational power: it underlies creation itself (Prajāpati’s act) and also the attainment of sacred knowledge (the Ṛṣis’ realization of the Vedas).
In Bhīṣma’s instruction during the Śānti Parva, he cites cosmic and scriptural precedents to emphasize the authority of tapas: the creator brings forth the world through it, and sages gain Vedic knowledge through it.