Shloka 28
Tapas-śreṣṭhatā: Anāśana as the Highest Austerity
Bhagīratha–Brahmā Saṃvāda
शम्याक्षेपैरयजं यच्च देवान् साद्यस्कानामयुतैश्लापि यत्तत् । त्रयोदशद्वादशाहै श्ष देव सपौण्डरीकान्न च तेषां फलेन
Bhagīratha uvāca — śamyākṣepair ayajaṃ yac ca devān sādyaskānām ayutaiś cāpi yat tat | trayodaśa-dvādaśāhaiś ca deva sapauṇḍarīkān na ca teṣāṃ phalena, deva, aham iha āgataḥ ||
Dijo Bhagīratha: «Oh Señor, he venerado una y otra vez a los dioses mediante sacrificios Śamyākṣepa; y también he realizado diez mil ritos Sādyaska. Muchas veces concluí sacrificios que terminan en trece días y en doce días, y asimismo completé el sacrificio llamado Pauṇḍarīka. Y, sin embargo, oh Dios, no es por los frutos de esos rituales que he llegado a este estado».
भगीरथ उवाच
Educational Q&A
Bhagīratha emphasizes that mere accumulation of ritual merit (even vast and varied sacrifices) is not the decisive cause of the highest attainment; something beyond the mechanical ‘fruit of rites’—such as divine grace, inner purity, or a higher dharmic purpose—is implied.
Bhagīratha addresses a deity and recounts the many great sacrifices he has performed—Śamyākṣepa, countless Sādyaska rites, twelve- and thirteen-day sacrifices, and the Pauṇḍarīka—then declares that his present arrival/attainment is not due to the fruits of those rituals.