Shloka 18
अध्याय ९० — लोमशोपदेशः तथा तीर्थयात्रानिश्चयः
Lomaśa’s Counsel and the Resolve for Pilgrimage
अपि चात्र महाराज स्वयं विश्वावसुर्जगौ । इमं श्लोक॑ तदा वीर प्रेक्ष्य दीक्षां महात्मन:,वीर महाराज! यहाँ महात्मा जमदग्निकी वह यज्ञदीक्षा देखकर स्वयं गन्धर्वराज विश्वावसुने इस श्लोकका गान किया था
api cātra mahārāja svayaṃ viśvāvasur jagau | imaṃ ślokaṃ tadā vīra prekṣya dīkṣāṃ mahātmanaḥ ||
And here, O great king, the Gandharva Viśvāvasu himself once sang this very verse, O hero, upon beholding the sacred consecration (dīkṣā) of that great-souled one. The passage highlights how the sight of disciplined, vow-bound ritual life can inspire even celestial beings to praise dharma through song.
धौम्य उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the moral power of disciplined religious observance: true dīkṣā—self-restraint, purity, and commitment to sacred duty—naturally evokes reverence and inspires praise, even from exalted beings like Gandharvas.
Dhaumya addresses the king and recalls an earlier moment when the Gandharva king Viśvāvasu, after witnessing a great person’s sacrificial consecration (dīkṣā), sang a verse in admiration—introducing or framing a laudatory śloka connected with that event.