Shloka 3
श्रीशक्रसंवादः — The Dialogue of Śrī
Lakṣmī) and Śakra (Indra
युधिछिर उवाच यदिदं तप इत्याहुरुपवासं पृथग्जना: । एतत् तपो महाराज उताहो कि तपो भवेत्
Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: yad idaṃ tapa ity āhur upavāsaṃ pṛthag-janāḥ | etat tapo mahārāja utāho kiṃ tapo bhavet ||
یُدھشٹھِر نے عرض کیا—مہاراج! عام لوگ روزہ (اُپواس) ہی کو ‘تپسیا’ کہتے ہیں۔ اے مہاراج، کیا واقعی اُپواس ہی تپسیا ہے، یا تپسیا کچھ اور ہے؟ اگر کچھ اور ہے تو اس تپسیا کی حقیقی صورت کیا ہے؟
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic inquiry: austerity (tapas) should not be reduced to a single external act like fasting. Yudhiṣṭhira asks for the deeper definition—implying that true tapas involves disciplined restraint, ethical conduct, and inner transformation rather than mere bodily deprivation.
In the instruction-filled Śānti Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira questions a senior authority addressed as ‘Mahārāja’ about the real nature of tapas. He notes that common people equate tapas with fasting and requests clarification on whether that is correct or whether a broader, truer form of austerity is intended.