Shloka 3
Puṣkara-Śapatha Itihāsa (Agastya–Indra Dispute at the Tīrthas) | पुष्कर-शपथ-आख्यानम्
भीष्मजीने कहा--युधिष्छिर! जो वेदोक्त व्रतका पालन नहीं करते, वे ब्राह्मणकी इच्छापूर्तिके लिये श्राद्धमें भोजन कर सकते हैं; किंतु जो वैदिक व्रतका पालन कर रहे हों, वे यदि किसीके अनुरोधसे श्राद्धका अन्न ग्रहण करते हैं तो उनका व्रत भंग हो जाता है ।।
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | yad idaṃ tapa ity āhur upavāsaṃ pṛthagjanāḥ | tapaḥ syād etad eveha tapo 'nyad vāpi kiṃ bhavet ||
Sinabi ni Bhīṣma: “O Yudhiṣṭhira! Yaong hindi sumusunod sa panatang itinakda ng Veda ay maaaring kumain ng pagkaing śrāddha upang tuparin ang nais ng isang Brahmin; ngunit ang nagtatangan ng panatang Vedic, kapag tumanggap ng pagkaing śrāddha dahil sa pakiusap ninuman, ay nababali ang kanyang panata.” Sinabi ni Yudhiṣṭhira: “Lolo, sinasabi ng karaniwang tao na ang pag-aayuno (upavāsa) ang siyang ‘tapas’ (pagpapakasakit/asceticism). Ano ang iyong pananaw dito? Nais kong malaman kung ang pag-aayuno lamang ba ang tunay na tapas, o may iba pang anyo ng tapas.”
युधिछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical inquiry: whether austerity (tapas) should be reduced to mere fasting, or understood more broadly as disciplined self-restraint and right conduct. Yudhiṣṭhira invites Bhīṣma to define tapas beyond popular assumptions.
During Bhīṣma’s instruction on dharma in the Anuśāsana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira asks a clarifying question about religious practice: people commonly equate tapas with fasting, and he seeks Bhīṣma’s authoritative explanation of what truly constitutes austerity.