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:,नरेश्वर! पुण्यसलिला जाह्नवी सदा उस क्षेत्रकी शोभा बढ़ाती हुई मानो उसका सेवन करती थीं। अग्निके समान तेजस्वी तथा धर्मात्माओंमें श्रेष्ठ अनेकानेक महात्माओंसे वह स्थान विभूषित था

Transliteration

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

Translation

Vāsudeva sprach: „O König, jener Ort war geschmückt mit heiligen, reinigenden Wassern und wurde immerdar aufgesucht—als würde er liebevoll genossen—von der Tochter Jahnus, dem Fluss Jāhnavī. Zudem war er geziert von vielen großherzigen Männern, den vornehmsten Trägern des Dharma, deren Glanz dem Feuer glich. So mehrte die heilige Jāhnavī mit ihrem verdienstvollen Strom unablässig die Schönheit jener geweihten Gegend.“

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.