Mahabharata 3.201.100 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 100
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
न ज्ञातिभ्यो दया यस्य शुक्लदेहोडविकल्मष: । हिंसा सा तपसस्तस्य नानाशित्वं तप: स्मृतम्
na jñātibhyo dayā yasya śukla-deho 'davikalmaṣaḥ | hiṃsā sā tapasas tasya nānāśitvaṃ tapaḥ smṛtam ||
Yudhiṣṭhira dit : «Celui dont le corps a été rendu extérieurement pur par les vœux et le jeûne, et qui évite maints actes fautifs, mais qui n’éprouve aucune compassion pour ses propres parents, cette dureté de cœur devient une violence qui ruine son austérité. L’austérité n’est pas seulement l’abandon de la nourriture.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True tapas is ethical and relational: compassion toward one’s own kin is essential. Outward purity through vows or fasting is undermined if the heart is cruel; such lack of mercy is treated as a form of hiṃsā that destroys ascetic merit.
In the Vana Parva discourse context, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a dharma-based critique of merely external asceticism, emphasizing that inner disposition—especially kindness toward relatives—determines the real value of vows and austerities.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.