Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 59
Adhyāya 119: Vyāsa–Kīṭa-saṃvāda
Tapas-bala and karmic ascent across yoni
नाभागेनाम्बरीषेण गयेन च महात्मना । आयुनाथानरण्येन दिलीपरघुपूरुभि:
nābhāgenāmbarīṣeṇa gayena ca mahātmanā | āyunāthānaraṇyena dilīparaghupūrubhiḥ |
毗湿摩说道：“噢，昆蒂之子啊，如那婆伽（Nābhāga）、安婆利沙（Ambarīṣa）、大魂伽耶（Gaya）、阿瑜（Āyu）、阿那然耶（Anaraṇya）、底利波（Dilīpa）、罗瞿（Raghu）与补卢（Pūru）等王者，曾于阿湿毗那月（Āśvina）的两半月——或仅一半月——立誓戒肉；他们仿佛与一切众生之我合一，并得知至高与相对之理（parāvara）。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhishma teaches that disciplined restraint—here, abstaining from meat during a sacred period—purifies conduct and mind, leading to expanded compassion toward all beings and culminating in higher spiritual insight (knowledge of parāvara-tattva).
In Bhishma’s instruction to Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma, he cites exemplary kings who observed a specific vow in the month of Āśvina. Their ethical self-restraint is presented as the cause of profound spiritual attainment and universal identification with the Self of all beings.