Mahabharata 3.201.100 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 201, Shloka 100
Dharma-vyādha’s Analysis of Moral Decline and the Mahābhūta–Guṇa Schema (धर्मव्याधोपदेशः)
न ज्ञातिभ्यो दया यस्य शुक्लदेहोडविकल्मष: । हिंसा सा तपसस्तस्य नानाशित्वं तप: स्मृतम्
na jñātibhyo dayā yasya śukla-deho 'davikalmaṣaḥ | hiṃsā sā tapasas tasya nānāśitvaṃ tapaḥ smṛtam ||
Юдхиштхира сказал: «Тот, кто обетами и постом сделал своё тело внешне чистым и избегает многих греховных дел, но не испытывает сострадания к собственным родичам, — такая черствость сердца становится насилием, разрушающим его аскезу. Аскеза — не одно лишь оставление пищи.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
True tapas is ethical and relational: compassion toward one’s own kin is essential. Outward purity through vows or fasting is undermined if the heart is cruel; such lack of mercy is treated as a form of hiṃsā that destroys ascetic merit.
In the Vana Parva discourse context, Yudhiṣṭhira articulates a dharma-based critique of merely external asceticism, emphasizing that inner disposition—especially kindness toward relatives—determines the real value of vows and austerities.
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