Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 59
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
नाभागेनाम्बरीषेण गयेन च महात्मना । आयुनाथानरण्येन दिलीपरघुपूरुभि:
nābhāgenāmbarīṣeṇa gayena ca mahātmanā | āyunāthānaraṇyena dilīparaghupūrubhiḥ |
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “O anak ni Kuntī, ang mga haring gaya nina Nābhāga, Ambarīṣa, ang dakilang Gaya, Āyu, Anaraṇya, Dilīpa, Raghu, at Pūru—na tumupad sa panatang umiwas sa karne sa buwan ng Āśvina sa dalawang kalahating-buwan (o kahit sa isa)—ay waring naging kaisa ng Sarili ng lahat ng nilalang, at nakamit ang kaalaman sa pinakamataas at pinakamababa (parāvara) na mga simulain.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that disciplined restraint—here, abstaining from meat during a sacred period—purifies conduct and mind, leading to expanded compassion toward all beings and culminating in higher spiritual insight (knowledge of parāvara-tattva).
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, he cites exemplary kings who observed a specific vow in the month of Āśvina. Their ethical self-restraint is presented as the cause of profound spiritual attainment and universal identification with the Self of all beings.