Shloka 9
Karma-Phala Rahasya and the Ethics of Dāna (कर्मफल-रहस्यं दानधर्मश्च)
वाहनानि च यानानि योगात्मनि तपोधने । अग्नीनुपशयानस्य राज्ञ: पौरुषमेव च
bhīṣma uvāca | vāhanāni ca yānāni yogātmani tapodhane | agnīn upaśayānasya rājñaḥ pauruṣam eva ca |
भीष्म ने कहा—जिस तपोधन का चित्त योग में स्थित है, उसे जन्मान्तर में उत्तम वाहन और यान प्राप्त होते हैं; और जो राजा अग्नियों की उपासना-परिचर्या करता है, उसे दूसरे जन्म में पौरुष—वीर्य और पराक्रम—की प्राप्ति होती है।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that specific dharmic disciplines yield corresponding fruits across births: yogic inner steadiness and tapas lead to refined worldly supports (good conveyances), while faithful service of the sacred fires—especially as a king’s duty—cultivates pauruṣa, i.e., valor and strength of character, in a future life.
Within Bhishma’s instruction on dharma and the results of righteous conduct, he enumerates karmic outcomes: he contrasts the merit of a yoga-established ascetic with that of a king devoted to fire-worship, assigning each a distinct reward in a subsequent birth.