Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 6
Nārāyaṇa-tejas: Kṛṣṇa’s Vrata, the Fire-Manifestation, and the Sages’ Inquiry (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय १२६)
तपसा महदाप्रोति विद्यया चेति न: श्रुतम् । तपसैव चापनुदेद् यच्चान्यदपि दुष्कृतम्
bhīṣma uvāca | tapasā mahad āpnoti vidyayā ceti naḥ śrutam | tapasaiva cāpanuded yac cānyad api duṣkṛtam |
Wika ni Bhishma: “Narinig namin na ang tao’y nakakamit ang dakilang kalagayan sa pamamagitan ng tapasya (mahigpit na pagpipigil at pagninilay), at gayundin sa pamamagitan ng karunungan. Bukod pa rito, anumang iba pang kasamaan, maaari niyang itaboy sa pamamagitan ng tapasya mismo.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that both disciplined austerity (tapas) and learning (vidyā) lead to exalted attainment, and that tapas has a purificatory power capable of removing the stains of wrongdoing.
In the Anushasana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhishma continues advising Yudhishthira by citing traditional teaching: spiritual discipline and knowledge elevate a person, and austerity functions as a means of moral purification.