Shloka 17
कपिलगोसंवादे गृहस्थ-त्यागधर्मयोः प्रमाण्यविचारः
Kapila–Cow Dialogue: Authority of Householder and Renunciant Dharmas
ततः कदाचित् स मुनिर्वर्षास्वाकाशमास्थित: । अन्तरिक्षाज्जलं मूर्ध्ना प्रत्यगृह्नान्मुहुर्मुहु:
tataḥ kadācit sa munir varṣāsv ākāśam āsthitaḥ | antarīkṣāj jalaṁ mūrdhnā pratyagṛhṇān muhur muhuḥ ||
Bhishma sprach: Dann, bei einer Gelegenheit, als die Regenzeit einsetzte, stellte sich jener Weise unter den offenen Himmel. Immer wieder nahm er auf seinem Haupt die wuchtigen Stöße der Wassermassen auf, die aus der Höhe herabstürzten—und ertrug das Hämmern des Platzregens als bewusst geübte Askese und Selbstzucht.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights tapas—voluntary endurance of hardship—as a means of cultivating self-mastery and forbearance. By consciously accepting discomfort (the repeated impact of heavy rain), the ascetic trains steadiness of mind and commitment to dharma.
A sage, during the rainy season, stands under the open sky and repeatedly lets the rain strike his head, deliberately receiving the downpour as part of his ascetic observance.