Shloka 21
Omens and Consolation after Loss; Reaffirmation of the Saindhava Punishment Vow (उत्पात-दर्शनम्, आश्वासन-वाक्यानि, प्रतिज्ञा-स्थैर्यम्)
धारयित्वा तु नियमं नन्दायां वीतकल्मषा,इस प्रकार नन्दानदीमें नियमोंके पालनपूर्वक रहकर वह निष्पाप हो गयी। तदनन्तर व्रत-नियमोंसे सम्पन्न हो मृत्यु पहले पुण्यमयी कौशिकीनदीके तटपर गयी और वहाँ वायु तथा जलका आहार करती हुई पुन: कठोर नियमोंका पालन करने लगी
dhārayitvā tu niyamaṁ nandāyāṁ vītakalmaṣā | tad-anantaraṁ vrata-niyamaiḥ sampannā ho mṛtyuḥ pūrvaṁ puṇyamayī kauśikī-nadī-tīraṁ gatvā tatra vāyu-jalāhārā bhūtvā punaḥ kaṭhora-niyamān anutiṣṭhati |
धारयित्वा तु नियमं नन्दायां वीतकल्मषा । ततः व्रतनियमोपेता कौशिक्याः पुण्यतटे ययौ ॥ वाय्वम्बुभक्षिणी भूत्वा पुनस्तीव्रं तपोऽकरोत् ॥
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Purity and moral strength are presented as outcomes of sustained niyama (disciplined restraint) and vrata (vowed practice). The verse frames ethical transformation—becoming vīta-kalmaṣā, 'free from stain'—as the fruit of consistent self-regulation rather than mere intention.
Nārada describes a woman (implied by vītakalmaṣā) who practices strict observances at the Nandā River, becomes purified, then proceeds to the holy bank of the Kauśikī River and continues even harsher austerities, living only on air and water.