Shloka 18
Sārasvata–Dadhīca Upākhyāna at Sarasvatī Tīrtha
Balarāma’s Pilgrimage Context
स््नात्वा समुद्रे विधिवच्छुचिर्जप्पं जजाप सः । कृतजप्याद्विक: श्रीमानाश्रमं च जगाम ह
snātvā samudre vidhivac chucir jappaṃ jajāpa saḥ | kṛtajapyādvikaḥ śrīmān āśramaṃ ca jagāma ha ||
उसने समुद्र में विधिपूर्वक स्नान कर शुद्ध होकर नियत मन्त्र-जप किया। जप तथा उससे सम्बद्ध विधियाँ पूर्ण करके वह श्रीमान् मुनि आश्रम की ओर चला।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores dharmic discipline: purification (snāna) performed according to rule (vidhivat) should be followed by inner practice (japa). Ethical steadiness is shown by completing one’s prescribed observances and then returning to a life of restraint and duty (āśrama).
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the (unnamed) illustrious person bathes in the ocean in the proper ritual manner, performs mantra-recitation (japa) to completion, and then goes to a hermitage—marking a transition from a purificatory rite to settled religious observance.