Shloka 28
Tapas-śreṣṭhatā: Anāśana as the Highest Austerity
Bhagīratha–Brahmā Saṃvāda
शम्याक्षेपैरयजं यच्च देवान् साद्यस्कानामयुतैश्लापि यत्तत् । त्रयोदशद्वादशाहै श्ष देव सपौण्डरीकान्न च तेषां फलेन
Bhagīratha uvāca — śamyākṣepair ayajaṃ yac ca devān sādyaskānām ayutaiś cāpi yat tat | trayodaśa-dvādaśāhaiś ca deva sapauṇḍarīkān na ca teṣāṃ phalena, deva, aham iha āgataḥ ||
قال بهاغيراثا: «يا ربّ، لقد عبدتُ الآلهة مرارًا بتقديم قرابين شَميَاكْشِبَة (Śamyākṣepa)، وأقمتُ كذلك عشرةَ آلاف من طقوس سادْيَسْكَة (Sādyaska). وكثيرًا ما أتممتُ قرابين تُختَتَم في ثلاثة عشر يومًا وفي اثني عشر يومًا، وأكملتُ أيضًا القربان المسمّى بَوْنْدَريكة (Pauṇḍarīka). ومع ذلك، يا إلهي، فليس بثمار تلك الطقوس بلغتُ هذه الحال.»
भगीरथ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhagīratha emphasizes that mere accumulation of ritual merit (even vast and varied sacrifices) is not the decisive cause of the highest attainment; something beyond the mechanical ‘fruit of rites’—such as divine grace, inner purity, or a higher dharmic purpose—is implied.
Bhagīratha addresses a deity and recounts the many great sacrifices he has performed—Śamyākṣepa, countless Sādyaska rites, twelve- and thirteen-day sacrifices, and the Pauṇḍarīka—then declares that his present arrival/attainment is not due to the fruits of those rituals.