Shloka 18
Abhimanyu’s Assault on Bhīṣma’s Screen; Banner-Felling and Reinforcements (सौभद्र-भीष्म-समरः)
१७ ।। सम्बन्ध-- अब राजय तपके लक्षण बतलाये जाते हैं-- सत्कारमानपूजार्थ तपो दम्भेनः चैव यत् । क्रियते तदिह प्रोक्ते राजसं चलमपश्चुवम्र,जो तप सत्कार, मान और पूजाके लिये तथा अन्य किसी स्वार्थके लिये भी३ स्वभावसे या पाखण्डसे किया जाता है, वह अनिश्चित एवं क्षणिक फलवाला तप यहाँ राजस कहा गया है
satkāra-māna-pūjārthaṁ tapo dambhena caiva yat | kriyate tad iha proktaṁ rājasaṁ calam adhruvam ||
Arjuna said: Austerity that is performed for the sake of gaining public honor, personal prestige, and worship—done with hypocrisy—is declared here to be of the rājasa type. Such practice is unstable and yields results that do not endure. Ethically, it warns that spiritual discipline loses its purifying power when driven by ego and social display rather than sincerity and inner restraint.
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Austerity becomes rājasa when it is motivated by ego—seeking honor, prestige, and worship—and is performed with hypocrisy. Because its motive is external recognition rather than inner purification, its fruits are unstable and impermanent.
Within the Bhīṣma Parva’s doctrinal discourse, the speaker classifies types of tapas according to the guṇas. This verse specifically defines rājasa austerity by its social-display motive (satkāra, māna, pūjā) and by the presence of dambha (pretence).