Shloka 16
कुण्डधारोपाख्यानम्
Kuṇḍadhāra-Upākhyāna: Dharma’s Superiority over Wealth and Desire
ज्यायसी या पवित्राणां निवृत्ति: श्रद्धया सह । निवृत्तशीलदोषो य: श्रद्धावान् पूत एव सः
jyāyasī yā pavitrāṇāṁ nivṛttiḥ śraddhayā saha | nivṛttaśīladoṣo yaḥ śraddhāvān pūta eva saḥ ||
Bhīṣma disse: “Mais excelente do que todas as purificações rituais é voltar-se para longe do pecado juntamente com śraddhā. O homem cujas faltas de conduta foram removidas—aquele que é dotado de fé—é, de fato, sempre puro.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True purity is primarily ethical: abandoning sinful behavior with sincere faith surpasses external or ritual forms of purification; reformed conduct makes a person genuinely pure.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma teaches Yudhiṣṭhira that inner moral transformation—ending faults of conduct—matters more than outward purificatory practices.