Shloka 45

Saptasārasvata-tīrtha-prasaṅgaḥ | The Saptasārasvata Pilgrimage Account and the Maṅkaṇaka Narrative

Devanagari script

समन्तपजञ्चकं यावत्तावत्ते द्विजसत्तमा: । तीर्थलोभान्नरव्याप्र नद्यास्तीरं समाश्रिता:

Transliteration

Samantapañcakaṃ yāvattāvatt te dvijasattamāḥ | tīrthalobhān naravyāghra nadyās tīraṃ samāśritāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „O Tiger unter den Menschen, so weit sich die Gegend namens Samantapañcaka erstreckt, so weit nahmen jene Vornehmsten der Zweimalgeborenen—getrieben von der Sehnsucht nach heiligen Badeplätzen (tīrthas)—Zuflucht am Ufer des Flusses.“

Word by Word

समन्तपञ्चकम्Samantapañcaka (the place/region named so)

यावत्as far as; up to the extent that

तावत्so far; to that extent

तेthey

द्विजसत्तमाःbest of the twice-born (Brahmins)

तीर्थलोभात्from desire for holy fords/pilgrimage-places

नरव्याघ्रO tiger among men

नद्याःof the river

तीरम्bank, shore

समाश्रिताःhaving resorted to; having taken refuge at

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Samantapañcaka

dvijas (Brahmins/learned twice-born men)

river bank (nadyās tīra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the powerful pull of tīrthas in dharmic life: learned people seek sacred places for purification and merit, suggesting that even amid the war’s grim context, ritual and moral restoration through pilgrimage remains a valued path.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes how eminent Brahmins, eager to reach holy fords, spread out and settled along the riverbank throughout the region known as Samantapañcaka, indicating a movement toward sacred sites in the Kurukṣetra area.