Shloka 13
Vyāghra–Gomāyu Saṃvāda (व्याघ्रगोमायु संवाद) — Testing Character Beneath Appearances
श्मशाने यदि मे वास: समाधियमें निशम्यताम् | आत्मा फलति कर्माणि नाश्रमो धर्मकारणम्
śmaśāne yadi me vāsaḥ samādhir iyaṁ niśamyatām | ātmā phalati karmāṇi nāśramo dharmakāraṇam ||
“纵然我居于火葬之地，也请听我此番断语：使诸业成熟结果、驱人趋向善行者，乃内在之我；外在的‘阿湿罗摩’（修行住处与社会宗教身份）本身并非达摩之因。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is grounded in the inner self—one’s intention, conscience, and moral agency. External status such as belonging to a particular āśrama does not automatically make one righteous; actions bear fruit through the self that chooses and sustains them.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs on dharma and right conduct. Here he addresses a potential objection based on outward circumstances (even something as socially stigmatized as living near a cremation-ground) and asserts that true righteousness depends on inner disposition and ethical action, not merely on one’s formal life-stage or social-religious label.