Shloka 6
रात्रावहनि धर्मज्ञ जपन् पापैर्न लिप्यते । तत् ते5हं सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि शूणुष्वैकमना नूप
rātrāv ahani dharmajña japan pāpair na lipyate | tat te 'haṃ sampravakṣyāmi śṛṇuṣvaikamanā nṛpa dharmajña nareśvara ||
Bhīṣma dijo: «Oh conocedor del dharma, quien recita este mantra de noche y de día no queda manchado por el pecado. Ahora te lo declararé: escucha con atención de un solo punto, oh rey, justo señor de los hombres».
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Steady, disciplined mantra-repetition (japa), maintained continuously “by night and by day,” is presented as a purifying practice that prevents moral taint (pāpa-lepa). The verse also stresses the learner’s inner posture: attentive, single-minded listening and receptivity to dharmic instruction.
Bhīṣma, instructing the king in the Anuśāsana Parva, introduces a specific mantra/teaching. He first states its fruit—freedom from sinful taint through constant japa—and then asks the king to listen with focused attention as he is about to reveal it.