Shloka 5
Vānaprastha-dharma and Tapas: Śiva–Umā Saṃvāda
Forest-Stage Discipline and Austerity
देवगुह्ामिदं राजन् यमेनाक्लिष्टकर्मणा । नियमस्थेन युक्तेन तपसो महतः फलम्
bhīṣma uvāca | devaguhyam idaṃ rājan yamenākliṣṭa-karmaṇā | niyama-sthena yuktena tapaso mahataḥ phalam ||
毗湿摩说道：“大王，此乃神圣而隐秘的教诲。阎摩——其行清净，不为扰动——安住于自制之戒，复以瑜伽之修持而严谨不懈，遂以深厚苦行之大果而得此法。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
That access to the highest, ‘divine-secret’ dharmic knowledge is not merely intellectual but is earned through purity of action, firm observance of self-restraint (niyama), disciplined yogic steadiness, and sustained tapas—whose ‘fruit’ is spiritual attainment.
Bhishma, instructing the king, introduces an esoteric doctrine and legitimizes it by tracing its origin to Yama, who attained this secret through great austerity and disciplined observance, thereby presenting it as authoritative and ethically grounded.