Shloka 189
Adhyāya 284: Tapas as a Corrective to Household Attachment
Parāśara’s Instruction
वर्णाश्रमकृतैर्धर्मविपरीतं क्वचित्समम् | गतान्तैरध्यवसितमत्याश्रममिदं व्रतम्
varṇāśramakṛtair dharma-viparītaṃ kvacit samam | gatāntair adhyavasitam atyāśramam idaṃ vratam ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “Ang pagtalimang ito, sa ilang bagay, ay salungat sa mga dharmang hinubog ng kaayusan ng uri at yugto ng buhay, at sa ilang bagay nama’y kaayon nito. Yaong mga nakarating na sa dulo ng landas—na batid ang tiyak na pasya ng aral—ay matibay na nagpasya para rito. Ang panatang ito’y nakahihigit (at lumalampas) sa karaniwang mga āśrama.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma highlights a higher discipline (vrata) that can transcend the usual varṇa–āśrama duties: it may appear partly contrary to conventional social-religious norms, yet it is embraced by those who understand the final purport of dharma and liberation.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction-setting, Bhīṣma is describing an exalted observance and emphasizing its authority: realized or well-grounded knowers have decisively adopted it, and it stands above ordinary life-stage frameworks.