Shloka 1
Tapas-śreṣṭhatā: Anāśana as the Highest Austerity
Bhagīratha–Brahmā Saṃvāda
अपन क्रा बछ। सं: त>र्योधिकशततमो< ध्याय: ब्रह्माजी और भगीरथका संवाद
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca—dānaṃ bahuvidhākāraṃ śāntiḥ satyam ahiṃsitām | svadāra-tuṣṭiś ca uktā te phalaṃ dānasya caiva yat | tapobalāt paraṃ kiṃ nu balaṃ bhavati te mate | yadi tapasyā api kiṃcid utkṛṣṭaṃ sādhanam asti, tan me vyākhyātuṃ arhasi ||
ユディシュティラは言った。「祖父よ、あなたは布施のさまざまな形を、また安寧・真実・不害とともに説かれました。さらに自らの妻に満ち足りることを教え、施しの果報も明らかにされました。あなたのお考えでは、苦行から生まれる力よりも大いなる力とは何でしょうか。もし苦行にも勝る修行があるなら、どうか我らの前に明確にお示しください。」
गौतम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a hierarchy of dharmic practices—charity, peace, truth, non-violence, and marital fidelity—and asks whether austerity (tapas) surpasses them, or whether an even higher discipline exists. It sets up an ethical inquiry into what most powerfully transforms character and leads to spiritual merit.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction section, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Bhīṣma as ‘Grandfather’ and, after hearing teachings on dāna and allied virtues, requests a deeper explanation about the greatest source of strength—tapas—and any practice superior to it.