Shloka 189
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
वर्णाश्रमकृतैर्धर्मविपरीतं क्वचित्समम् | गतान्तैरध्यवसितमत्याश्रममिदं व्रतम्
varṇāśramakṛtair dharma-viparītaṃ kvacit samam | gatāntair adhyavasitam atyāśramam idaṃ vratam ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Esta observância é, em certos aspectos, contrária aos dharmas moldados pelo sistema de classes e estágios de vida, e, em outros, está em harmonia com eles. Aqueles que chegaram ao fim do caminho—que conhecem as conclusões assentadas—resolveram-se firmemente por ela. Este voto está além (e acima) dos āśramas comuns.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights a higher discipline (vrata) that can transcend the usual varṇa–āśrama duties: it may appear partly contrary to conventional social-religious norms, yet it is embraced by those who understand the final purport of dharma and liberation.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhīṣma is describing an exalted observance and emphasizing its authority: realized or well-grounded knowers have decisively adopted it, and it stands above ordinary life-stage frameworks.