Shloka 34
Dama-pradhāna-dharma (Self-restraint as the Root of Dharma) — Śānti-parva 154
तप: कुरुत वै तीव्र मुच्यध्वं येन किल्बिषात् । तपसा लकभ्यते सर्व विलाप: कि करिष्यति
tapaḥ kuruta vai tīvraṁ mucyadhvaṁ yena kilbiṣāt | tapasā labhyate sarvaṁ vilāpaḥ kiṁ kariṣyati ||
Bhishma nói: “Hãy thực hành khổ hạnh (tapas) thật mãnh liệt, nhờ đó các ngươi sẽ được giải thoát khỏi tội lỗi. Nhờ khổ hạnh, mọi điều đều có thể đạt được—vậy than khóc thì làm được gì?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that moral purification and real change come through disciplined practice (tapas)—austerity, restraint, and sustained effort—rather than through passive grief. Tapas is presented as a means to remove sin (kilbiṣa) and to attain one’s rightful aims.
In the instruction-heavy setting of the Shanti Parva, Bhishma addresses listeners who are overwhelmed by sorrow or remorse. He redirects them from lamentation to a constructive path of expiation and inner reform through intense austerity.