Shloka 118
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
तपसा स्वर्गगमनं भोगो दानेन जायते | ज्ञानेन मोक्षो विज्ञेयस्तीर्थस्नानादघक्षय:,तपसे स्वर्गलोकमें जानेका सौभाग्य प्राप्त होता है। दानसे भोगोंकी प्राप्ति होती है। ज्ञानसे मोक्ष मिलता है, यह जानना चाहिये तथा तीर्थस्नानसे पापोंका क्षय हो जाता है
tapasā svargagamanaṃ bhogo dānena jāyate | jñānena mokṣo vijñeyas tīrthasnānād aghakṣayaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Dengan tapa (austeriti) seseorang memperoleh jalan ke syurga; dengan sedekah (dāna) seseorang meraih kenikmatan hidup. Dengan pengetahuan, hendaklah difahami bahawa mokṣa (pembebasan) dapat dicapai; dan dengan mandi di tīrtha (tempat penyeberangan suci), dosa-dosa berkurang.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse maps distinct spiritual practices to their characteristic fruits: tapas leads to heavenly attainment, dāna yields worldly enjoyments, jñāna leads to mokṣa, and tīrtha-bathing reduces sin—presenting a graded view of aims from prosperity to liberation.
In the Vana Parva context of exile and pilgrimage-discourse, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a concise ethical-spiritual summary, distinguishing the outcomes of austerity, generosity, knowledge, and pilgrimage rites.