Adhyāya 214: Tapas Redefined—Perpetual Discipline, Hospitality, and the Ethics of Eating (तपः-निरूपणम्, विघसाशी-अतिथिप्रिय-धर्मः)
रागोत्पन्नश्चरेत् कृच्छों महार्ति: प्रविशेदप: । मग्न: स्वप्ने च मनसा त्रिर्जपेदघधमर्षणम्
Bhīṣma uvāca: rāgotpannaś caret kṛcchraṁ mahārtīḥ praviśed apaḥ | magnaḥ svapne ca manasā trir japet aghamarṣaṇam ||
毗湿摩说道:“若贪染与欲念生起,当行名为‘克利阇罗’(Kṛcchra)的净化苦行。若淫欲之苦恼甚烈,当入水——河或湖——而沐浴。若于梦中有精泄,当沉入水中,并于心内诵念‘阿伽摩尔沙那’(Aghamarṣaṇa)圣颂三遍;由此复得梵行者应有的自制与清净。”
भीष्म उवाच
The verse teaches disciplined response to sexual desire for a brahmacārin: when passion arises, adopt structured penance (Kṛcchra), use water-immersion as a calming and purifying practice when agitation is intense, and perform mental recitation of the Aghamarṣaṇa hymn after involuntary nocturnal emission—framing purity as restoration of restraint rather than mere guilt.
In the Śānti Parva’s instruction on dharma, Bhīṣma advises Yudhiṣṭhira on conduct and expiations. Here he gives practical prāyaścitta procedures for a celibate student when desire arises, when lust becomes painful, and when a dream leads to seminal discharge, prescribing austerity, bathing/immersion, and Vedic japa.