Shloka 21
Go-mahātmyam: Pavitrāṇāṃ Pavitraṃ
Cows and Ghee as Supreme Purifiers
तत्तेजस्तु ततो रौद्रं कपिलास्ता विशाम्पते
tattejastu tato raudraṃ kapilāstā viśāmpate
قال بهيشما: «ثم إنَّ ذلك البهاء اشتدَّ وصار رهيبًا؛ وصارت تلك الكائنات سمراءَ مائلةً إلى الصفرة (كابيلا)، يا سيِّدَ الناس».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how accumulated spiritual or cosmic energy (tejas) can shift into a fierce, Rudra-like force (raudra) when conditions change—implying that power must be governed by restraint and dharma, especially in a king’s ethical horizon.
Bhīṣma continues a descriptive account in which a previously mentioned radiance intensifies into a terrible form, and the referenced beings/objects take on a tawny (kapila) coloration, while addressing the king (Yudhiṣṭhira) as ‘viśāmpati’.