Shloka 50
Brāhmaṇya-प्रश्नः — The Inquiry into Attaining Brāhmaṇya
Mataṅga–Gardabhī Itihāsa
नर्मदायामुपस्पृश्य तथा शूर्पारकोदके । एकपक्षं निराहारो राजपुत्रो विधीयते,नर्मदा नदी और शूर्परिक क्षेत्रके जलमें स्नान करके एक पक्षतक निराहार रहनेवाला मनुष्य दूसरे जन्ममें राजकुमार होता है
narmadāyām upaspṛśya tathā śūrpārakodake | ekapakṣaṃ nirāhāro rājaputro vidhīyate ||
Setelah mandi penyucian di sungai Narmadā dan juga di perairan suci Śūrpāraka, orang yang berpuasa tanpa makan selama satu paruh bulan (dua pekan) ditetapkan terlahir kembali sebagai seorang pangeran.
अजड्रिय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that disciplined austerity (a fortnight-long fast) performed after ritual bathing at revered tīrthas (Narmadā and Śūrpāraka) generates puṇya that is believed to ripen as an elevated rebirth—specifically, birth as a prince—illustrating the Mahābhārata’s linkage of place-sanctity, vow-observance, and karmic result.
A speaker (Ajadriya) is listing tīrtha-related observances and their promised fruits. Here, he specifies a particular rite—bathing in the Narmadā and in Śūrpāraka’s waters, followed by a fortnight of fasting—and states the resulting benefit in the next life.