Shloka 19
Karma-Phala Rahasya and the Ethics of Dāna (कर्मफल-रहस्यं दानधर्मश्च)
उपवासं च दीक्षायामभिषेकं च पार्थिव । कृत्वा द्वादश वर्षाणि वीरस्थानाद् विशिष्यते
upavāsaṃ ca dīkṣāyām abhiṣekaṃ ca pārthiva | kṛtvā dvādaśa varṣāṇi vīrasthānād viśiṣyate ||
毗湿摩说道：大王啊，若有人受持誓戒之入门（dīkṣā），以断食为生，舍弃谷食，并在诸圣地（tīrtha）恒常沐浴净身，历十二年不辍，则其所至之境，胜过那在战场上捐躯的勇士。
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhīṣma teaches that sustained ascetic discipline—formal vow (dīkṣā), fasting (upavāsa), and repeated sacred ablutions (abhiṣeka) maintained for twelve years—can yield spiritual merit surpassing even the celebrated merit of dying heroically in battle (vīrasthāna).
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma addresses the king and compares two paths to exalted posthumous reward: heroic death in war versus long-term religious observance. He elevates the latter as leading to a superior state.