Nārāyaṇa-tejas: Kṛṣṇa’s Vrata, the Fire-Manifestation, and the Sages’ Inquiry (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय १२६)
अहं दानं प्रशंभामि भवानपि तप:श्रुते । तप: पवित्र वेदस्य तप: स्वर्गस्थ साधनम्
bhīṣma uvāca | ahaṃ dānaṃ praśaṃsāmi bhavān api tapaḥ-śrute | tapaḥ pavitraṃ vedasya tapaḥ svargastha-sādhanam ||
Bhishma berkata: “Aku memuji kebajikan memberi; dan engkau, yang mendalam dalam tapa dan pengetahuan śruti, memuji tapas. Sesungguhnya tapas itu menyucikan; ia menguduskan laku terhadap Weda dan menjadi sarana utama untuk mencapai surga.”
भीष्म उवाच
Bhishma affirms that both charity (dāna) and austerity (tapas) are praised within dharma, and he highlights tapas as especially purifying—supporting the sanctity of Vedic engagement and functioning as a strong means toward heavenly merit (svarga).
In Bhishma’s instruction on dharma (Anuśāsana Parva), he addresses a learned interlocutor and frames a comparative appreciation of virtues: he commends dāna while acknowledging the other’s emphasis on tapas and sacred learning, then states the spiritual efficacy of tapas.