Shloka 6

Cavana’s Tests of Kuśika and the Queen (अध्याय ५३: च्यवन–कुशिक-परिक्षा)

Devanagari script

स्थाणुभूत: शुचिर्भूत्वा दैवते भ्य: प्रणम्य च । गंगायमुनयोर्मध्ये जलं सम्प्रविवेश ह,एक समय वे देवताओंको प्रणामकर अत्यन्त पवित्र होकर गंगा-यमुनाके संगममें जलके भीतर प्रविष्ट हुए और वहाँ काष्ठकी भाँति स्थिर भावसे बैठ गये

Transliteration

sthāṇubhūtaḥ śucir bhūtvā daivatebhyaḥ praṇamya ca | gaṅgāyamunayor madhye jalaṃ sampraviveśa ha ||

Translation

Bhishma sprach: „Einst, nachdem er sich gereinigt und vor den Göttern verneigt hatte, betrat er das Wasser am Zusammenfluss von Ganga und Yamuna; und dort saß er im Wasser, reglos wie ein Holzklotz — standhaft in Selbstbeherrschung und Ehrfurcht.“

Word by Word

स्थाणु-भूतःhaving become like a post; motionless

शुचिःpure

भूत्वाhaving become

दैवतेभ्यःto the deities

प्रणम्यhaving bowed (saluted)

चand

गङ्गा-यमुनयोःof (the rivers) Ganga and Yamuna

मध्येin the middle

जलम्water

सम्प्रविवेशentered

हindeed (particle)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

Deities (Daivata)

Ganga

Yamuna

Confluence (Sangama)

Water (Jala)

Log/wood (implied by kāṣṭha-like stillness)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharmic preparation for spiritual practice: purification, reverence to the divine, and unwavering steadiness (self-control). Ethical force lies in disciplined humility—approaching sacred acts with inner and outer cleanliness and firm resolve.

What is happening in the narrative?

A person (as narrated by Bhishma) performs a ritual act: he becomes purified, bows to the gods, enters the water at the Ganga–Yamuna confluence, and remains seated within the water, perfectly still, indicating austerity or meditative observance at a sacred tirtha.