Shloka 13
Adhyāya 214: Tapas Redefined—Perpetual Discipline, Hospitality, and the Ethics of Eating (तपः-निरूपणम्, विघसाशी-अतिथिप्रिय-धर्मः)
रागोत्पन्नश्चरेत् कृच्छों महार्ति: प्रविशेदप: । मग्न: स्वप्ने च मनसा त्रिर्जपेदघधमर्षणम्
Bhīṣma uvāca: rāgotpannaś caret kṛcchraṁ mahārtīḥ praviśed apaḥ | magnaḥ svapne ca manasā trir japet aghamarṣaṇam ||
Bhishma disse: “Se a paixão ou o desejo surgir, deve-se empreender a austeridade purificadora chamada voto de Kṛcchra. Se a aflição da luxúria se tornar intensa, deve-se entrar na água—rio ou lago—e banhar-se. E se houver emissão seminal em sonho, deve-se imergir na água e recitar mentalmente três vezes o hino Aghamarṣaṇa—assim se restaura o autocontrole e a pureza próprios de um brahmacārin.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches disciplined response to sexual desire for a brahmacārin: when passion arises, adopt structured penance (Kṛcchra), use water-immersion as a calming and purifying practice when agitation is intense, and perform mental recitation of the Aghamarṣaṇa hymn after involuntary nocturnal emission—framing purity as restoration of restraint rather than mere guilt.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira on conduct and expiations. Here he gives practical prāyaścitta procedures for a celibate student when desire arises, when lust becomes painful, and when a dream leads to seminal discharge, prescribing austerity, bathing/immersion, and Vedic japa.