Shloka 34
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
तप: कुरुत वै तीव्र मुच्यध्वं येन किल्बिषात् । तपसा लकभ्यते सर्व विलाप: कि करिष्यति,अब तुमलोग तीव्र तपस्या करो, जिससे समस्त पापोंसे छुटकारा पा जाओगे। तपस्यासे सब कुछ मिल सकता है। तुम्हारा यह विलाप क्या करेगा?
tapaḥ kuruta vai tīvraṁ mucyadhvaṁ yena kilbiṣāt | tapasā labhyate sarvaṁ vilāpaḥ kiṁ kariṣyati ||
ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—തീവ്രമായ തപസ്സ് ചെയ്യുക; അതിലൂടെ പാപത്തിൽ നിന്ന് മോചിതരാകും. തപസ്സിലൂടെ എല്ലാം ലഭിക്കും—ഈ വിലാപം എന്ത് ചെയ്യും?
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that moral purification and real change come through disciplined practice (tapas)—austerity, restraint, and sustained effort—rather than through passive grief. Tapas is presented as a means to remove sin (kilbiṣa) and to attain one’s rightful aims.
In the instruction-heavy setting of the Shanti Parva, Bhishma addresses listeners who are overwhelmed by sorrow or remorse. He redirects them from lamentation to a constructive path of expiation and inner reform through intense austerity.