Shloka 12
युधिष्ठिरप्रश्नः—विश्वामित्रस्य ब्राह्मणत्वकौतूहलम् | Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry on Viśvāmitra’s Attainment of Brāhmaṇya
तथैवास्य भयाद् बद्ध्वा वसिष्ठ: सलिले पुरा । आत्मानं मज्जयन् श्रीमान् विपाश: पुनरुत्थित:
tathaivāsya bhayād baddhvā vasiṣṭhaḥ salile purā | ātmānaṃ majjayan śrīmān vipāśaḥ punarutthitaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Demikian pula dahulu, karena takut kepadanya, Vasiṣṭha yang mulia mengikat tubuhnya dengan tali dan mencoba menenggelamkan diri ke dalam air; namun sungai itu melepaskannya dari jerat dan ia pun bangkit kembali ke permukaan.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even under intense fear and pressure, a person of spiritual strength and integrity is not ultimately overcome; the episode also frames how a righteous life and great deeds become memorialized in sacred geography, turning a place into a moral reminder.
Yudhiṣṭhira recounts an old incident: Vasiṣṭha, terrified (in the background of the Viśvāmitra–Vasiṣṭha hostility), ties himself with a rope and attempts to drown in a river, but the river releases him from the bond and he rises again; from this event the river becomes known as Vipāśā, ‘free from the noose.’