Shloka 15
कपिलगोसंवादे गृहस्थ-त्यागधर्मयोः प्रमाण्यविचारः
Kapila–Cow Dialogue: Authority of Householder and Renunciant Dharmas
वने तपस्यतिष्ठत् स न च धर्ममवैक्षत । वर्षास्वाकाशशायी च हेमन्ते जलसंश्रय:
vane tapasyatiṣṭhat sa na ca dharmam avaikṣata | varṣāsv ākāśaśāyī ca hemante jalasaṃśrayaḥ ||
ビーシュマは言った。「彼は森にとどまり、苦行に堅く立っていたが、真のダルマを見極めることはできなかった。雨季には天蓋なき空の下に身を横たえ、冬には水の中に身を寄せた—苛烈な自己苦行を行いながらも、それに価値を与える正しい道徳的洞察を欠いていたのである。」
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Austerity by itself is not sufficient; without clear perception of dharma (moral discernment and right purpose), even extreme ascetic practices can be spiritually and ethically hollow.
Bhīṣma describes an ascetic who performs harsh seasonal austerities—sleeping under the open sky in the rains and immersing in water in winter—yet fails to grasp or follow dharma, highlighting the gap between external practice and inner ethical understanding.