Shloka 8

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 60: Arjuna’s return, auspicious omens, and mission delegation

Devanagari script

भगीरथं यजमानमैक्ष्वाकुं भूरिदक्षिणम्‌ । गड्जा समुद्रगा देवी वव्रे पितरमी श्वरम्‌,यज्ञ करते समय भूयसी दक्षिणा देनेवाले इक्ष्वाकुवंशी ऐश्वर्यशशाली राजा भगीरथको समुद्रगामिनी गंगादेवीने अपना पिता मान लिया था

Transliteration

Bhagīrathaṁ yajamānam aikṣvākuṁ bhūridakṣiṇam | Gaṅgā samudragā devī vavre pitaram īśvaram ||

Translation

Nārada sprach: Die Göttin Gaṅgā, die zum Ozean strömt, nahm den ruhmreichen König Bhagīratha, aus dem Geschlecht Ikṣvāku, der Opfer vollzog und für reiche Opfergaben berühmt war, als ihren Vater an.

Word by Word

भगीरथम्Bhagīratha

यजमानम्the sacrificer (patron of a sacrifice)

ऐक्ष्वाकुम्descendant of Ikṣvāku (Ikṣvāku-line king)

भूरि-दक्षिणम्having abundant sacrificial fees (very generous in gifts)

गङ्गाGaṅgā

समुद्र-गाgoing to / flowing into the ocean

देवीthe goddess

वव्रेchose / accepted

पितरम्father

ईश्वरम्lord / sovereign

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Bhagīratha

Ikṣvāku (dynasty reference)

Gaṅgā

Samudra (ocean, implied by samudragā)

Yajña

Dakṣiṇā

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical power of dāna (generosity) and yajña (righteous sacrificial duty): a king who gives abundant dakṣiṇā and upholds dharma earns exceptional honor, to the point that even a goddess is portrayed as acknowledging him in a filial, reverential relationship.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada cites an exemplum: Gaṅgā, the ocean-flowing goddess, is said to have accepted the Solar-dynasty king Bhagīratha—renowned as a yajamāna and lavish giver of dakṣiṇā—as her father, thereby praising his eminence and merit.