Shloka 50
Devaśarmā–Vipula Dialogue on Ahorātra–Ṛtu as Moral Witnesses (अनुशासन पर्व, अध्याय ४३)
योगेनाथ प्रवेशो हि गुरुपत्न्या: कलेवरे
yogenātha praveśo hi guru-patnyāḥ kalevare |
Bhishma said: “Therefore, by the power of yoga, I must enter the body of the preceptor’s wife. As a drop of water resting on a lotus leaf remains unstained, so too will I dwell within her without attachment.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when compelled to act in a morally delicate situation, one must uphold dharma through strict self-mastery: acting without lust or possessiveness, remaining inwardly unstained—like water on a lotus leaf—by maintaining non-attachment and purity of intention.
Bhishma explains a resolve to use yogic power to enter the body of his preceptor’s wife, while emphasizing that his presence will be entirely free from desire or personal claim. The lotus-leaf simile is used to assert ethical restraint and inner detachment amid an extraordinary act.