Shloka 19
Mahāvasu’s Fall by Speech-Error and Release through Devotion (अज-विवादः वसोः शापः विमोचनं च)
जातमात्र मुने: पुत्र विधिनोपानयत् तदा । तब महातेजस्वी महात्मा भगवान् शंकरने देवी पार्वतीके साथ स्वयं प्रसन्नतापूर्वक पधारकर महर्षि व्यासके उस नवजात पुत्रका विधिपूर्वक उपनयन-संस्कार किया ।।
jātamātraṃ muneḥ putraṃ vidhinopānayat tadā | tataḥ mahātejasvī mahātmā bhagavān śaṅkaraḥ devyā pārvatyā saha svayaṃ prasannatāpūrvakaṃ upetya maharṣeḥ vyāsasya tasya navajātasya putrasya vidhivat upanayana-saṃskāraṃ cakāra | tasya deveśvaraḥ śakro divyam adbhuta-darśanam ...
Bhīṣma berkata: “Ketika putera sang muni baru sahaja lahir, dia pun diupacarakan dengan benang suci (upanayana) menurut tata cara yang sah. Lalu Tuhan Śaṅkara sendiri—yang maha bercahaya, berhati agung—datang dengan perkenan yang gembira bersama Dewi Pārvatī, dan melaksanakan menurut adat yang benar upacara upanayana bagi bayi yang baru lahir itu, putera Mahārṣi Vyāsa. Sesudah itu, Śakra (Indra), raja para dewa, berwujud menakjubkan dan ilahi, …”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the dharmic importance of saṃskāras—especially upanayana—as a sanctifying rite that authorizes disciplined learning and ethical formation. It also conveys that true dharma is upheld and affirmed by higher spiritual authority: even the greatest rites are ideally performed with reverence, correctness (vidhi), and divine-minded benevolence.
Bhishma narrates an extraordinary event: immediately after the birth of Vyasa’s son, Lord Shiva arrives with Parvati and personally performs the child’s upanayana according to proper ritual procedure. The verse then transitions to Indra (Shakra), described as wondrous and divine in appearance, indicating further celestial participation or the next development in the episode.