Mahabharata 11.14.4 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 14, Shloka 4

स्त्रीपर्व — गान्धारीभीमसेनसंवादः

Strī-parva — Gāndhārī–Bhīmasena Dialogue on Wartime Conduct

Devanagari script

स गज्जायामुपस्पृश्य पुण्यगन्धि पय:ः शुचि । त॑ देशमुपसम्पेदे परमर्षिमनोजव:

Transliteration

sa gajjāyām upaspṛśya puṇya-gandhi payaḥ śuci | taṁ deśam upasampede paramarṣim ano-javaḥ ||

Translation

মনোজৱ সেই মহৰ্ষিয়ে গজ্জাত পুণ্যসুগন্ধি শুদ্ধ জলে আচমন কৰি, য’ত পৰম ঋষি আছিল সেই স্থানলৈ উপস্থিত হ’ল।

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• गज्जायाम्: in/at the (river/stream) Gajjā
• गज्जायाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज्जा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्री, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• उपस्पृश्य: having touched/washed (i.e., performed ablution)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप + स्पृश् (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप् (क्त्वा-प्रत्ययार्थक अव्ययभाव), कर्तरि, पूर्वकालिक क्रिया (absolutive)

• पुण्यगन्धि: sweet/fragrant, of holy fragrance
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुण्य + गन्धिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पयः: water
• पयः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पयस् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• शुचि: pure/clean
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुचि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तत्: that
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• देशम्: place/region
• देशम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: देश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• उपसम्पेदे: reached/approached
• Type: Verb
• Root: उप + सम् + पद् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपद/आत्मनेपद-रूपेण परोक्षभूतार्थे), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम, एकवचन

• परमर्षिमनोजवः: the swift one (as fast as thought), the great sage
• परमर्षिमनोजवः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परम + ऋषि + मनोजव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• वैशम्पायन
• गज्जा
• परमर्षि

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Before seeking counsel or presence of a great sage, one should cultivate purity and reverence—symbolized by ablution at a sacred place—so that the approach is ethically and ritually appropriate.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes a person who first performs purification at the sacred spot called Gajjā using sanctified, clean water, and then quickly proceeds to the location of a supreme seer.