Shloka 17
कपिलगोसंवादे गृहस्थ-त्यागधर्मयोः प्रमाण्यविचारः
Kapila–Cow Dialogue: Authority of Householder and Renunciant Dharmas
ततः कदाचित् स मुनिर्वर्षास्वाकाशमास्थित: । अन्तरिक्षाज्जलं मूर्ध्ना प्रत्यगृह्नान्मुहुर्मुहु:
tataḥ kadācit sa munir varṣāsv ākāśam āsthitaḥ | antarīkṣāj jalaṁ mūrdhnā pratyagṛhṇān muhur muhuḥ ||
Bhishma dit : Puis, un jour, lorsque vint la saison des pluies, ce sage se tint à découvert sous le ciel. À maintes reprises, il reçut sur sa tête les coups des torrents d’eau tombant des hauteurs — endurant le martèlement de l’averse comme un acte volontaire d’ascèse et de discipline de soi.
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights tapas—voluntary endurance of hardship—as a means of cultivating self-mastery and forbearance. By consciously accepting discomfort (the repeated impact of heavy rain), the ascetic trains steadiness of mind and commitment to dharma.
A sage, during the rainy season, stands under the open sky and repeatedly lets the rain strike his head, deliberately receiving the downpour as part of his ascetic observance.