Shloka 18
तीर्थानां हृदयं तीर्थ शुचीनां हृदयं शुचि: । सर्वमार्यकृतं चौक्ष्यं वालसंस्पर्शनानि च,तीर्थोमें श्रेष्ठ तीर्थ विशुद्ध हृदय है, पवित्र वस्तुओंमें अतिपवित्र भी विशुद्ध हृदय ही है। शिष्ट पुरुष जिसे आचरणमें लाते हैं, वह आचरण सर्वश्रेष्ठ है। चँवर आदिमें लगे हुए गायकी पूँछके बालोंका स्पर्श भी शिष्टाचारानुमोदित होनेके कारण शुद्ध है
tīrthānāṁ hṛdayaṁ tīrthaṁ śucīnāṁ hṛdayaṁ śuciḥ | sarvam āryakṛtaṁ caukṣyaṁ vāla-saṁsparśanāni ca ||
भीष्म उवाच— तीर्थानां हृदयं तीर्थं शुचीनां हृदयं शुचिः। सर्वमार्यकृतं शौच्यं वालसंस्पर्शनानि च॥
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
True purity is primarily internal: a purified heart is the highest tīrtha and the purest purity. Social and ritual notions of cleanliness are validated when grounded in the refined conduct (ācāra) of noble persons, emphasizing ethical intention over mere external form.
In Śānti Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma after the war. Here he explains standards of purity: inner purity is supreme, and customary practices accepted among the cultured (such as contact with whisk-hairs used in royal service) are considered pure because they are endorsed by proper conduct.