Shloka 1
Dāna–Tapaḥ Praśaṃsā and Gṛhastha-Upadeśa
Maitreya
ऑपन--माजल बछ। अकाल एकोनविशर्त्याधिकशततमो< ध्याय: कीड़ेका ब्राह्मणयोनिमें जन्म लेकर ब्रह्मलोकमें जाकर सनातनब्रह्माको प्राप्त करना भीष्म उवाच क्षत्रधर्ममनुप्राप्त: स्मरन्नेव च वीर्यवान् । त्यक्त्वा स कीटतां राज॑ंश्वचार विपुलं तप:
bhīṣma uvāca | kṣatradharmam anuprāptaḥ smarann eva ca vīryavān | tyaktvā sa kīṭatāṃ rājan ścacāra vipulaṃ tapaḥ ||
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai Raja! Setelah menanggalkan keadaan sebagai serangga, makhluk itu—dengan mengingati kelahiran terdahulunya—mencapai dharma seorang Kṣatriya. Dengan tenaga dan keberanian yang besar, lalu ia menempuh tapa yang amat luas.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights moral and spiritual uplift: even after a low birth, one can rise by remembering prior lessons, embracing one’s rightful dharma, and practicing disciplined austerity (tapas).
Bhishma tells Yudhishthira that the being who had been born as an insect has now left that condition, regained memory of a former life, attained the status and duties of a kshatriya, and begun intense austerities.