Shloka 196
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
अनेनैव तु देहेन गणानां समतां व्रजेत् । तेजसा यशसा चैव युक्तो भवति निर्मल:,इतना ही नहीं, वह इसी शरीरसे भगवान् शिवके गणोंकी समानता प्राप्त कर लेता है तथा तेज और यशसे सम्पन्न होकर निर्मल हो जाता है
anenaiva tu dehena gaṇānāṃ samatāṃ vrajet | tejasā yaśasā caiva yukto bhavati nirmalaḥ ||
Bhīṣma dit : «Par ce seul hymne, avec ce corps même, un homme peut atteindre l’égalité avec les gaṇas, les troupes d’assistants du Seigneur Śiva ; pourvu d’éclat et de bonne renommée, il devient purifié et sans tache.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Embodied life itself can be the means of spiritual elevation: through disciplined dharmic practice one gains purity (nirmalatā), inner radiance (tejas), honorable reputation (yaśas), and proximity or parity with exalted divine attendants (Śiva’s gaṇas).
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and the fruits of virtuous observances. Here he states that the practitioner, without abandoning the present body, can attain a lofty spiritual status—likened to equality with Śiva’s gaṇas—while becoming radiant, renowned, and purified.