Shloka 37
Go-dāna-phala-nirdeśa
Merit and Destinations from the Gift of Cows
ब्रह्मचर्य दहेद् राजन् सर्वपापान्युपासितम् । ब्राह्मणेन विशेषेण ब्राह्मणो हाग्निरुच्यते
brahmacaryaṁ dahed rājan sarvapāpāny upāsitam | brāhmaṇena viśeṣeṇa brāhmaṇo hy agnir ucyate ||
毗湿摩说道：“大王啊，持守梵行（brahmacarya）之清净戒律，能焚尽一切积聚之罪。尤其对婆罗门更是如此：因为以梵行而住的婆罗门，被称为具有火之本性。”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Brahmacarya—understood as disciplined restraint and dedicated sacred conduct—has a purifying power likened to fire: it can consume accumulated sin. The verse highlights this as especially potent for a brāhmaṇa, whose ideal identity is tied to purity, tapas, and Vedic discipline.
In the Anuśāsana Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma continues advising King Yudhiṣṭhira. Here he emphasizes the ethical and spiritual efficacy of brahmacarya, using the metaphor that the brahmacārin brāhmaṇa is ‘fire-like’—a purifier who burns away impurity.