Shloka 13

Pūjādi-kathana — Gaṅgā Vratas, Tenfold Worship, Stotra, and Mokṣa on the Riverbank

Devanagari script

गंगातीरे माघमासे यः कुर्यान्नक्तभोजनम् । शिवायतनपार्श्वे तु कृशरं घृतसंयुतम् ॥ १३ ॥

Transliteration

gaṃgātīre māghamāse yaḥ kuryānnaktabhojanam | śivāyatanapārśve tu kṛśaraṃ ghṛtasaṃyutam || 13 ||

Translation

من أقام على ضفة الغانغا في شهر ماغها نذر الأكل ليلًا فقط، ثم تناول قرب معبد شيفا «كريشرا» (أرزًّا مع بقول) ممزوجًا بالسمن (ghee)، فذلك هو النسك الموصوف.

Word by Word

• गङ्गातीरे: on the Ganga’s bank
• गङ्गातीरे: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा + तीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/सप्तमी), एकवचन; Locative singular; ‘on the bank of the Ganga’

• माघमासे: in the month of Māgha
• माघमासे: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Time)
• Type: Noun
• Root: माघ + मास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; Locative singular; ‘in the month of Māgha’

• यः: who
• यः: कर्ता (Kartā/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; Relative pronoun ‘who’

• कुर्यात्: should perform
• कुर्यात्: क्रिया (Kriyā/Predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; ‘should do’

• नक्तभोजनम्: night-meal observance
• नक्तभोजनम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नक्त + भोजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular

• शिवायतनपार्श्वे: beside Śiva’s shrine
• शिवायतनपार्श्वे: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिव + आयतन + पार्श्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन; Locative singular; ‘beside the temple of Śiva’

• तु: indeed
• तु: सम्बन्ध (Sambandha/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; विरोध/विशेषार्थक particle ‘but/indeed’

• कृशरम्: kṛśara (rice-lentil dish)
• कृशरम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृशर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग (प्रयोगे नपुंसक), द्वितीया, एकवचन; Accusative singular; a rice-lentil dish

• घृतसंयुतम्: mixed with ghee
• घृतसंयुतम्: विशेषण (Viśeṣaṇa/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घृत + संयुत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; युज् धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; क्त-प्रत्यय; agrees with ‘कृशरम्’; ‘mixed with ghee’

Speaker

Suta (narrating the Narada–Sanatkumara dialogue; verse gives vrata-vidhi in the mahatmya section)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: Nakta-bhojana vrata (Māgha, Gaṅgā-tīra context)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhakti

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Characters & Entities

• Ganga
• Shiva

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in Narada Purana?

It prescribes a Māgha-month tirtha-observance at the Gaṅgā: restraining food to nighttime (naktabhojana) and taking a simple sattvic meal (kṛśara with ghee) near a Śiva shrine, emphasizing purity, restraint, and sanctified place-based merit (tīrtha-phala).

How does this verse explain the path of devotion (Bhakti)?

Bhakti is expressed through disciplined vrata and reverence to sacred loci—Gaṅgā-tīra and Śiva-āyatana—where simple, consecrated living becomes an act of devotion rather than indulgence.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

Kalpa/ritual discipline is implied: timing rules (Māgha month, naktabhojana) and procedural observance (place near a deity’s shrine, prescribed food), reflecting vrata-vidhi rather than grammar or astrology.