Shloka 42
मातङ्ग–शक्रसंवादः
Mataṅga–Śakra Dialogue on Tapas, Status, and Moral Qualities
अग्नौ प्रास्तं प्रधूयेत यथा तूल॑ द्विजोत्तम । तथा गज्भजावगाढस्य सर्वपापं प्रधूयते
agnau prāstaṃ pradhūyeta yathā tūlaṃ dvijottama | tathā gaṅgāmbhasi āvāgāḍhasya sarvapāpaṃ pradhūyate ||
अग्नौ प्रास्तं प्रधूयेत यथा तूलं द्विजोत्तम । तथा गङ्गाजलावगाढस्य सर्वपापं प्रधूयते ॥
सिद्ध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that contact with a supremely sacred tīrtha—here, immersion in the Gaṅgā—has the power to eradicate accumulated pāpa (moral demerit), illustrated by the rapid destruction of cotton in fire.
A Siddha addresses a brāhmaṇa (dvijottama), explaining through a striking simile that bathing by full immersion in the Gaṅgā brings about purification, emphasizing the Mahābhārata’s tīrtha-mahātmyas within Anuśāsana Parva.