रात्रावहनि धर्मज्ञ जपन् पापैर्न लिप्यते । तत् ते5हं सम्प्रवक्ष्यामि शूणुष्वैकमना नूप
rātrāv ahani dharmajña japan pāpair na lipyate | tat te 'haṃ sampravakṣyāmi śṛṇuṣvaikamanā nṛpa dharmajña nareśvara ||
اے دھرم کے جاننے والے نرَیشور! جو رات دن اس منتر کا جپ کرتا ہے وہ گناہوں سے آلودہ نہیں ہوتا۔ وہی منتر میں تمہیں بتاتا ہوں—اے راجا، یکسوئی سے سنو۔
भीष्म उवाच
Steady, disciplined mantra-repetition (japa), maintained continuously “by night and by day,” is presented as a purifying practice that prevents moral taint (pāpa-lepa). The verse also stresses the learner’s inner posture: attentive, single-minded listening and receptivity to dharmic instruction.
Bhīṣma, instructing the king in the Anuśāsana Parva, introduces a specific mantra/teaching. He first states its fruit—freedom from sinful taint through constant japa—and then asks the king to listen with focused attention as he is about to reveal it.