Shloka 23
Yoga-kṛtya (योककृत्य) — Vyāsa on Sense-Restraint, Obstacles, and Brahman-Realization
तपसा तदवाप्रोति यद्धूतं सूजते जगत् | स तद्धूतश्व सर्वेषां भूतानां भवति प्रभु:
tapasā tad avāpnoti yad dhūtaṃ sūjate jagat | sa tad dhūtaś ca sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ bhavati prabhuḥ ||
तपसा तदवाप्नोति यद्धूतं सूजते जगत् । स तद्धूतश्च सर्वेषां भूतानां भवति प्रभुः ॥
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Tapas (disciplined austerity) purifies the practitioner and leads to realization of the subtle, purified source-principle from which the cosmos arises; from such inner purification comes true mastery—first over oneself, and consequently an authoritative influence over beings.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa states a general doctrine: austerity is not mere hardship but a transformative purification that grants access to the causal principle of creation and yields spiritual sovereignty (prabhutva).