Shloka 190
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
मया पाशुपतं दक्ष शुभमुत्पादितं पुरा । तस्य चीर्णस्य तत् सम्यक् फलं भवति पुष्कलम् | तच्चास्तु ते महाभाग त्यज्यतां मानसो ज्वर:
mayā pāśupataṁ dakṣa śubham utpāditaṁ purā | tasya cīrṇasya tat samyak phalaṁ bhavati puṣkalam | taccāstu te mahābhāga tyajyatāṁ mānaso jvaraḥ ||
Bhīṣma said: “O Dakṣa, long ago I brought forth an auspicious observance called the Pāśupata vow. When it is properly undertaken and lived out, its fruit becomes abundant and complete. May that very fruit come to you, O noble one; cast off the fever of anxiety in your mind.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Properly performed spiritual discipline yields abundant, wholesome results; therefore one should practice with correctness and then relinquish inner agitation—anxiety is portrayed as a ‘fever’ to be abandoned once one is grounded in dharma and observance.
Bhīṣma addresses Dakṣa, recalling an auspicious Śiva-related observance (the Pāśupata vow) that he had instituted earlier. He assures Dakṣa that its correctly practiced performance brings rich fruit and urges him to give up mental distress.