Shloka 189
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
वर्णाश्रमकृतैर्धर्मविपरीतं क्वचित्समम् | गतान्तैरध्यवसितमत्याश्रममिदं व्रतम्
varṇāśramakṛtair dharma-viparītaṃ kvacit samam | gatāntair adhyavasitam atyāśramam idaṃ vratam ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Cette observance, sous certains aspects, contredit les dharma façonnés par l’ordre des classes et des âges de la vie, et sous d’autres, elle s’accorde avec eux. Ceux qui sont parvenus au terme de la voie—ceux qui connaissent les conclusions établies—s’y sont résolus avec fermeté. Ce vœu se tient au-delà (et au-dessus) des âśrama ordinaires.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights a higher discipline (vrata) that can transcend the usual varṇa–āśrama duties: it may appear partly contrary to conventional social-religious norms, yet it is embraced by those who understand the final purport of dharma and liberation.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhīṣma is describing an exalted observance and emphasizing its authority: realized or well-grounded knowers have decisively adopted it, and it stands above ordinary life-stage frameworks.