Shloka 55

Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ

Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony

Devanagari script

विभूषितं पुण्यपवित्रतोयया सदा च जुष्टं नृप जह्लुकन्यया । विभूषितं धर्मभृतां वरिष्ठै- महात्मभिव॑द्लिसमानकल्पै:

Transliteration

vibhūṣitaṃ puṇyapavitratoyayā sadā ca juṣṭaṃ nṛpa jahlukanyayā | vibhūṣitaṃ dharmabhṛtāṃ variṣṭhair mahātmabhir adlisamānakalpaiḥ ||

Translation

قال فاسوديفا: «أيها الملك، كان ذلك الموضع مُزدانًا بمياهٍ مقدّسةٍ مطهِّرة، وكانت ابنةُ جَهْنُو—نهرُ جاهْنَفِي—تؤمّه على الدوام، كأنها تتلذّذ به محبةً. وزاده بهاءً جمعٌ من العظام ذوي النفوس الكبيرة، وهم أرفعُ حَمَلةِ الدَّرْمَا، يتلألأ مجدُهم كالنار. وهكذا كانت جاهْنَفِي، بسيلها ذي الفضل، تُعلي جمال تلك البقعة المقدّسة على الدوام.»

Word by Word

• {'vibhūṣitam': 'adorned, beautified, made splendid', 'puṇya': 'merit-bearing, holy, auspicious', 'pavitra': 'purifying, sacred', 'toya/toyayā': 'water

• by water', 'sadā': 'always, continually', 'juṣṭam': 'frequented, resorted to

• cherished/served', 'nṛpa': 'O king', 'jahlukanyā (jahnu-kanyā)': 'daughter of Jahnu

• epithet of the river Gaṅgā/Jāhnavī', 'dharmabhṛtām': 'of those who uphold dharma', 'variṣṭhaiḥ': 'by the best, foremost', 'mahātmabhiḥ': 'by great-souled persons, noble sages', 'agni-samāna-tejas (implied by Hindi gloss)': 'having brilliance like fire'}

Speaker

वासुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāsudeva (speaker)
• nṛpa (the king, addressee)
• Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā river)
• Jahnu (as progenitor in the epithet jahnu-kanyā)
• mahātmāḥ (great-souled sages/virtuous men)
• a sacred region/field (kṣetra, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how sacred waters and the presence of dharma-upholding great souls sanctify and beautify a place. Ethical emphasis is placed on purity (pavitra), merit (puṇya), and the elevating power of association with the righteous.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāsudeva describes a holy region to the king, praising it as continually graced by the Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) and by many radiant, dharma-centered great men, thereby portraying the site as spiritually powerful and auspicious.