Shloka 6
Brāhmaṇya-प्रश्नः — The Inquiry into Attaining Brāhmaṇya
Mataṅga–Gardabhī Itihāsa
उपस्पृश्य फल कि स्यात्तेषु तीर्थेषु वै मुने । प्रेत्यभावे महाप्राज्ञ तद् यथास्ति तथा वद,“महाज्ञानी मुनीश्वर! उन तीर्थोंमें स्नान करनेसे मृत्युके बाद किस फलकी प्राप्ति होती है? इस विषयमें जैसी वस्तुस्थिति है, वह बताइये”
upaspṛśya phalaṁ ki syāt teṣu tīrtheṣu vai mune | pretyabhāve mahāprajña tad yathāsti tathā vada ||
Bhīṣma said: “O sage, what fruit is gained by bathing in those sacred fords (tīrthas)? O greatly wise one, tell me the truth as it truly is—what result comes after death from such tīrtha-bathing?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-inquiry: the value of tīrtha-bathing is to be assessed by its true post-mortem consequence (phala), and the sage is asked to state the reality without exaggeration—linking ritual practice to ethical truth and ultimate outcome.
Bhīṣma, in instruction mode, questions a sage about the specific spiritual results of bathing at certain sacred places, especially regarding what benefit accrues after death, requesting an accurate account of the matter.