Shloka 13
Adhyāya 214: Tapas Redefined—Perpetual Discipline, Hospitality, and the Ethics of Eating (तपः-निरूपणम्, विघसाशी-अतिथिप्रिय-धर्मः)
रागोत्पन्नश्चरेत् कृच्छों महार्ति: प्रविशेदप: । मग्न: स्वप्ने च मनसा त्रिर्जपेदघधमर्षणम्
Bhīṣma uvāca: rāgotpannaś caret kṛcchraṁ mahārtīḥ praviśed apaḥ | magnaḥ svapne ca manasā trir japet aghamarṣaṇam ||
Bhishma dijo: «Si surge la pasión o el deseo, debe emprenderse la austeridad purificadora llamada voto de Kṛcchra. Si la aflicción de la lujuria se vuelve intensa, hay que entrar en el agua—río o lago—y bañarse. Y si en un sueño hay derrame seminal, debe sumergirse en el agua y recitar mentalmente tres veces el himno Aghamarṣaṇa; así se restablecen el dominio de sí y la pureza propios de un brahmacārin.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches disciplined response to sexual desire for a brahmacārin: when passion arises, adopt structured penance (Kṛcchra), use water-immersion as a calming and purifying practice when agitation is intense, and perform mental recitation of the Aghamarṣaṇa hymn after involuntary nocturnal emission—framing purity as restoration of restraint rather than mere guilt.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira on conduct and expiations. Here he gives practical prāyaścitta procedures for a celibate student when desire arises, when lust becomes painful, and when a dream leads to seminal discharge, prescribing austerity, bathing/immersion, and Vedic japa.