Shloka 16
कुण्डधारोपाख्यानम्
Kuṇḍadhāra-Upākhyāna: Dharma’s Superiority over Wealth and Desire
ज्यायसी या पवित्राणां निवृत्ति: श्रद्धया सह । निवृत्तशीलदोषो य: श्रद्धावान् पूत एव सः
jyāyasī yā pavitrāṇāṁ nivṛttiḥ śraddhayā saha | nivṛttaśīladoṣo yaḥ śraddhāvān pūta eva saḥ ||
ভীষ্ম বললেন—শ্রদ্ধাসহ পাপ থেকে নিবৃত্ত হওয়াই সকল শুদ্ধিকরণের চেয়ে শ্রেষ্ঠ। যার আচরণগত দোষ দূর হয়েছে, সেই শ্রদ্ধাবান পুরুষই সত্যই সদা পবিত্র।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True purity is primarily ethical: abandoning sinful behavior with sincere faith surpasses external or ritual forms of purification; reformed conduct makes a person genuinely pure.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira that inner moral transformation—ending faults of conduct—matters more than outward purificatory practices.