Shloka 3
आचारप्रशंसा
Praise of Ācāra as the Basis of Longevity, Fame, and Prosperity
तपसा ब्रह्मचर्येण जपहोमैस्तथौषधै: । कर्मणा मनसा वाचा तने ब्रूहि पितामह
tapasā brahmacaryeṇa japahomais tathauṣadhaiḥ | karmaṇā manasā vācā tvaṁ me brūhi pitāmaha ||
ユディシュティラは言った。「苦行によってか、梵行の規律によってか、真言の誦持と火供の供養によってか、また薬方の手立てによってか――身の行い、心のはたらき、言葉のいずれによって――祖父よ、人が最高の善（シュレーヤス）に与るため、何を主として拠り所とすべきか、私にお告げください。」
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry: which disciplines—asceticism, celibate restraint, mantra-recitation, fire-offering, or medicinal/remedial means—when practiced through deed, thought, and speech, most effectively lead a person to śreyas (the highest good). It emphasizes that spiritual progress is evaluated across the three channels of human agency: body (karma), mind (manas), and speech (vāc).
In the Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira seeks instruction on dharma from the elder Bhīṣma (addressed as Pitāmaha). Here he asks Bhīṣma to clarify what practices a person should rely upon—across action, intention, and speech—to attain true welfare and moral-spiritual excellence.