Shloka 6
Brāhmaṇya-प्रश्नः — The Inquiry into Attaining Brāhmaṇya
Mataṅga–Gardabhī Itihāsa
उपस्पृश्य फल कि स्यात्तेषु तीर्थेषु वै मुने । प्रेत्यभावे महाप्राज्ञ तद् यथास्ति तथा वद
upaspṛśya phalaṁ ki syāt teṣu tīrtheṣu vai mune | pretyabhāve mahāprajña tad yathāsti tathā vada ||
Wika ni Bhīṣma: “O pantas, anong bunga ang natatamo sa pagligo sa mga banal na tawiran (tīrtha) na yaon? O dakilang marunong, sabihin mo ang katotohanan ayon sa tunay na kalagayan—anong bunga ang dumarating pagkamatay mula sa pagligo sa tīrtha?”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharma-inquiry: the value of tīrtha-bathing is to be assessed by its true post-mortem consequence (phala), and the sage is asked to state the reality without exaggeration—linking ritual practice to ethical truth and ultimate outcome.
Bhīṣma, in instruction mode, questions a sage about the specific spiritual results of bathing at certain sacred places, especially regarding what benefit accrues after death, requesting an accurate account of the matter.