Shloka 109
Ādi-parva Adhyāya 3 — Janamejaya’s Rite, Dhaumya’s Parīkṣā, and Uttanka’s Kuṇḍala Quest (सर्पसत्रप्रस्तावना–गुरुपरीक्षा–उत्तङ्कोपाख्यान)
अथोत्तड़कस्तं तथेत्युक्त्वा प्राइ़मुख उपविश्य सुप्रक्षालितपाणिपादवदनो निःशब्दाभिरफेनाभिरनुष्णाभि्वद्गताभिरद्धिस्त्रि.. पीत्वा द्विः परिमृज्य खान्यद्धिरुपस्पृश्य चान्त:पुरं प्रविवेश,तत्पश्चात् उत्तंक राजासे “ठीक है” ऐसा कहकर हाथ, पैर और मुँह भलीभाँति धोकर पूर्वाभिमुख हो आसनपर बैठे और हृदयतक पहुँचनेयोग्य शब्द तथा फेनसे रहित शीतल जलके द्वारा तीन बार आचमन करके उन्होंने दो बार अँगूठेके मूल भागसे मुख पोंछा और नेत्र, नासिका आदि इन्द्रिय-गोलकोंका जलसहित अंगुलियोंद्वारा स्पर्श करके अन्तःपुरमें प्रवेश किया
athottadakas taṃ tathety uktvā prāṅmukha upaviśya suprakṣālitapāṇipādavadano niḥśabdābhir aphēnābhir anuṣṇābhir udakābhir āhṛdibhir adbhis triḥ pītvā dviḥ parimṛjya khāny adbhir upaspṛśya cāntaḥpuraṃ praviveśa | tatpaścāt uttanka rājāse “ṭhīk hai” iti uktvā hasta-pādayoḥ mukhaṃ ca bhalībhānti dhotvā pūrvābhimukha āsanopaviṣṭaḥ hṛdaya-tak pahuṃcane-yogya śabda tathā phena-se rahita śītala jala ke dvārā trir ācamana kṛtvā dviḥ aṅguṣṭha-mūlena mukhaṃ parimṛjya netra-nāsikādy indriya-golakān jala-sahita aṅgulībhiḥ spṛṣṭvā antaḥpure praviśati
Then Uttadaka, having replied “So be it,” sat down facing east after thoroughly washing his hands, feet, and face. In silence he performed ācamana three times with cool water—free from foam and any sound—sipped so that it reached the region of the heart. He wiped his mouth twice with the base of his thumb, touched the apertures of the senses (such as the eyes and nostrils) with water on his fingers, and then entered the inner apartments. The passage underscores the Mahābhārata’s concern for disciplined purity and self-restraint: before entering a private or sacred space, one steadies the body and mind through prescribed, quiet rites, making outward cleanliness a support for inward composure.
राम उवाच