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 dit : «Ô connaisseur du dharma, celui qui récite ce mantra nuit et jour n’est pas souillé par le péché. Je vais à présent te le déclarer : écoute d’un esprit unifié, ô roi, juste seigneur des hommes.»
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.