Shloka 2
Kalmāṣapāda’s Encounter with Śakti and the Escalation of the Vasiṣṭha–Viśvāmitra Feud (कल्माषपाद–शक्ति प्रसङ्गः)
सोअभिषेक्तुं गतो गड्ां पूर्वमेवागतां सतीम् । ददर्शाप्सरसं तत्र घृताचीमाप्लुतामृषि:,एक दिन वे गंगाजीमें स्नान करनेके लिये गये। वहाँ पहलेसे ही आकर सुन्दरी अप्सरा घृताची नामवाली गंगाजीमें गोते लगा रही थी। महर्षिने उसे देखा
so ’bhiṣektuṁ gato gaṅgāṁ pūrvam evāgatāṁ satīm | dadarśāpsarasaṁ tatra ghṛtācīm āplutām ṛṣiḥ ||
The sage, having gone to the river Gaṅgā to bathe, saw there the Apsaras Ghṛtācī—already arrived before him—immersing herself in the water. The scene sets the stage for a moral tension often explored in the Mahābhārata: the encounter between ascetic discipline and the allure of celestial beauty, where vigilance over the senses becomes an ethical test.
ब्राह्मण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse introduces a classic Mahābhārata ethical motif: even a disciplined ascetic may face sudden sensory provocation, and the true measure of dharma includes alertness, restraint, and right response when confronted with temptation.
A sage goes to the Gaṅgā for bathing and notices the celestial nymph Ghṛtācī already there, bathing/immersed in the river—an encounter that typically foreshadows a consequential interaction between ascetic life and divine allure.