Shloka 19
Karma-Phala Rahasya and the Ethics of Dāna (कर्मफल-रहस्यं दानधर्मश्च)
उपवासं च दीक्षायामभिषेकं च पार्थिव । कृत्वा द्वादश वर्षाणि वीरस्थानाद् विशिष्यते,पृथ्वीनाथ! जो पुरुष बारह वर्षोतकके लिये व्रतकी दीक्षा लेकर अन्नका त्याग करता और तीर्थोमें स्नान करता रहता है, उसे रणभूमिमें प्राण त्यागनेवाले वीरसे भी बढ़कर उत्तम लोककी प्राप्ति होती है
upavāsaṃ ca dīkṣāyām abhiṣekaṃ ca pārthiva | kṛtvā dvādaśa varṣāṇi vīrasthānād viśiṣyate ||
Disse Bhīṣma: Ó rei, o homem que assume uma iniciação votiva (dīkṣā), vive em jejum, renuncia ao alimento e persevera em banhos/abluições sagradas nos tīrthas por doze anos, alcança um estado mais elevado do que até mesmo o guerreiro que entrega a vida no campo de batalha.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that sustained ascetic discipline—formal vow (dīkṣā), fasting (upavāsa), and repeated sacred ablutions (abhiṣeka) maintained for twelve years—can yield spiritual merit surpassing even the celebrated merit of dying heroically in battle (vīrasthāna).
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma addresses the king and compares two paths to exalted posthumous reward: heroic death in war versus long-term religious observance. He elevates the latter as leading to a superior state.