Shloka 17
Karma-Phala Rahasya and the Ethics of Dāna (कर्मफल-रहस्यं दानधर्मश्च)
स्त्रियस्त्रिषवर्णं स्नात्वा वायुं पीत्वा क्रतुं लभेत् । स्वर्ग सत्येन लभते दीक्षया कुलमुत्तमम्
striyaḥ triṣavarṇaṁ snātvā vāyuṁ pītvā kratuṁ labhet | svargaṁ satyena labhate dīkṣayā kulam uttamam ||
Dengan meninggalkan kenikmatan yang berkaitan dengan perempuan, mandi pada tiga waktu yang ditetapkan, dan hidup dalam pengekangan ekstrem seakan ‘meminum angin’, seseorang memperoleh pahala yajña. Dengan kebenaran orang meraih surga, dan dengan dīkṣā ia memperoleh kemuliaan garis keturunan.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma links inner discipline to spiritual results: severe restraint and purity of conduct can yield the merit of sacrifice; truthfulness leads to heaven; and disciplined consecration (dīkṣā) elevates one’s ‘kula’—understood as noble standing sustained by vows and purified conduct.
In Anushasana Parva, Bhishma continues instructing Yudhishthira on dharma. Here he summarizes a set of ascetic and ethical observances—continence/restraint, thrice-daily bathing, austere living, truthfulness, and dīkṣā—by stating the corresponding fruits they are said to produce.