Shloka 23
Yoga-kṛtya (योककृत्य) — Vyāsa on Sense-Restraint, Obstacles, and Brahman-Realization
तपसा तदवाप्रोति यद्धूतं सूजते जगत् | स तद्धूतश्व सर्वेषां भूतानां भवति प्रभु:
tapasā tad avāpnoti yad dhūtaṃ sūjate jagat | sa tad dhūtaś ca sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ bhavati prabhuḥ ||
毗耶娑说：凭借苦行（tapas），人能证得那清净而微妙的本原，由此世界得以生起。以苦行与此清净境界相应而合一者，便具威德，得以统摄一切众生，成其主宰。
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Tapas (disciplined austerity) purifies the practitioner and leads to realization of the subtle, purified source-principle from which the cosmos arises; from such inner purification comes true mastery—first over oneself, and consequently an authoritative influence over beings.
In the didactic setting of Śānti Parva, Vyāsa states a general doctrine: austerity is not mere hardship but a transformative purification that grants access to the causal principle of creation and yields spiritual sovereignty (prabhutva).