Shloka 6
Cavana’s Tests of Kuśika and the Queen (अध्याय ५३: च्यवन–कुशिक-परिक्षा)
स्थाणुभूत: शुचिर्भूत्वा दैवते भ्य: प्रणम्य च । गंगायमुनयोर्मध्ये जलं सम्प्रविवेश ह
sthāṇubhūtaḥ śucir bhūtvā daivatebhyaḥ praṇamya ca | gaṅgāyamunayor madhye jalaṃ sampraviveśa ha ||
एकदा ते शुद्ध होऊन देवतांना प्रणाम करून गंगा-यमुनेच्या संगमात जलात प्रविष्ट झाले आणि तेथे काष्ठासारखे स्थिर होऊन बसले।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic preparation for spiritual practice: purification, reverence to the divine, and unwavering steadiness (self-control). Ethical force lies in disciplined humility—approaching sacred acts with inner and outer cleanliness and firm resolve.
A person (as narrated by Bhishma) performs a ritual act: he becomes purified, bows to the gods, enters the water at the Ganga–Yamuna confluence, and remains seated within the water, perfectly still, indicating austerity or meditative observance at a sacred tirtha.