Shloka 39
मातङ्ग–शक्रसंवादः
Mataṅga–Śakra Dialogue on Tapas, Status, and Moral Qualities
इन्दुब्रतसहस्र॑ तु यश्चरेत् कायशोधनम् । पिबेद् यश्चापि गज्भाम्भ: समौ स्यातां न वा समौ
induvrata-sahasraṁ tu yaś caret kāya-śodhanam | pibed yaś cāpi gaṅgāmbhaḥ samau syātāṁ na vā samau ||
قال السِّدها: «قد يُقيم رجلٌ ألف نذرٍ قمريٍّ للتكفير (تشاندرايانا Cāndrāyaṇa) لتطهير الجسد، وقد يكتفي آخر بشرب مياه الغانغا. وقد يُعَدّان سواءً—وقد لا يكونان سواءً، بل لعل شرب ماء الغانغا يفوق ذاك.»
सिद्ध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse weighs elaborate bodily/ritual penance against the sanctifying power attributed to Gaṅgā-water, suggesting that sincere contact with a sacred purifier may equal—or even exceed—extensive austerities.
A Siddha is instructing about comparative religious merit: he contrasts performing many Cāndrāyaṇa vows for bodily purification with the act of drinking Gaṅgā-water, and he leaves open (or emphasizes) the possibility that the latter is superior.