Shloka 49
Āśrama-dharma: Duties of the Four Life-Stages (आश्रमधर्मः)
उदितेडनुदिते वापि श्रद्धधानो जितेन्द्रिय: । वह्निं जुहोति धर्मेण श्रद्धा वै कारणं महत्
udite 'nudite vāpi śraddadhāno jitendriyaḥ | vahniṃ juhoti dharmeṇa śraddhā vai kāraṇaṃ mahat ||
Bhīṣma dit : Qu’il s’agisse du lever du soleil ou même d’avant son apparition, lorsqu’un homme maître de lui et plein de foi verse des oblations dans le feu sacré selon le dharma, c’est la śraddhā—la foi—qui demeure la cause première et décisive de l’efficacité véritable du rite.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that the inner disposition—śraddhā (faithful, sincere intent)—is the principal factor that makes a dharmic act spiritually effective; correct timing and procedure matter, but faith is the decisive cause.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma explains to Yudhiṣṭhira that a disciplined person offering oblations into the sacred fire—whether at sunrise or before it—achieves the rite’s true purpose chiefly through faith.