Shloka 213
Mahāvasu’s Fall by Speech-Error and Release through Devotion (अज-विवादः वसोः शापः विमोचनं च)
तत्रैवोवास मेधावी व्रतचारी समाहित: । तदनन्तर महातेजस्वी अरणिसम्भूत शुक वह दिव्य जन्म पाकर ब्रह्मचर्यकी दीक्षा ले वहीं रहने लगे। वे बड़े बुद्धिमान, व्रतपालक तथा चित्तको एकाग्र रखनेवाले थे
tatraivovāsa medhāvī vratacārī samāhitaḥ | tad-anantaraṃ mahātejasvī araṇi-sambhūtaḥ śukaḥ saḥ divya-janma prāpya brahmacarya-dīkṣāṃ lebhe tatraiva nyavasat | sa buddhimān vratapālakaś ca cittaikāgrya-parāyaṇaḥ āsīt |
Bhīṣma said: There itself the wise one dwelt—steadfast in vows and collected in mind. Thereafter, the radiant Śuka, born from the fire-sticks (araṇi), having obtained a divine birth, accepted initiation into brahmacarya and continued to live in that very place. He was highly intelligent, a faithful keeper of vows, and devoted to one-pointed concentration of the mind.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage upholds brahmacarya, vow-observance, and mental collectedness as foundations of spiritual excellence: true radiance comes from disciplined conduct and one-pointed concentration rather than from external power.
Bhishma describes Shuka’s extraordinary origin (linked with the araṇi fire-sticks) and then narrates how Shuka takes brahmacarya initiation and remains living there as a disciplined ascetic—wise, steadfast in vows, and focused in mind.