Śulka, Kanyā, and Dauhitra-Riktha: Discourse on Bride-Price and Inheritance Rights (शुल्क-कन्या-दौहित्र-रिक्थविचारः)
उभौ लोकौ जितौ चापि तथैवामन्यत प्रभु: । कर्मणा तेन कौरव्य तपसा विपुलेन च,कुरुनन्दन! शक्तिशाली विपुल उस गुरुपत्नी-संरक्षणरूपी कर्म तथा प्रचुर तपस्याद्वारा ऐसा समझने लगे कि मैंने दोनों लोक जीत लिये
ubhau lokau jitau cāpi tathaivāmanyata prabhuḥ | karmaṇā tena kauravya tapasā vipulena ca ||
Bhishma nói: “Hỡi Kauravya, nhờ việc ấy và nhờ khổ hạnh dồi dào, kẻ hùng mạnh kia đã tin rằng mình đã chinh phục cả hai cõi.”
भीष्म उवाच
The verse links ethical action (karma) and sustained austerity (tapas) with the attainment of great merit—so great that one may feel as if both this world and the next are ‘conquered’; it also implicitly cautions that spiritual success can give rise to self-assessment and potential pride.
Bhishma continues a didactic account, addressing Yudhiṣṭhira, describing a powerful figure who—through a particular deed and intense austerities—became convinced that he had achieved victory in both realms (worldly and otherworldly).