Shloka 313

Kapālamocana-tīrtha (Auśanasa) and Balarāma’s Sarasvatī Pilgrimage

Devanagari script

सप्तसारस्वतं चैव तीर्थ पुण्यं तथा स्मृतम्‌ । इस प्रकार सात सरस्वती नदियोंका नामोल्लेखपूर्वक वर्णन किया गया है। इन्हींसे सप्तसारस्वत नामक परम पुण्यमय तीर्थका प्रादुर्भाव बताया गया है

Transliteration

saptasārasvataṃ caiva tīrthaṃ puṇyaṃ tathā smṛtam |

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: „Auch die heilige Furt, die Saptasārasvata genannt wird, gilt in der Überlieferung als von höchstem Verdienst.“ Im Zusammenhang bedeutet dies: Nachdem die sieben Sarasvatī-Ströme namentlich genannt wurden, wird ihre Heiligkeit im berühmten Pilgerort Saptasārasvata zusammengefasst—und so betont das Mahābhārata, dass Erinnerung, Verehrung und die rechte Hinwendung zu den tīrthas die innere Läuterung tragen, selbst mitten in der Härte der Kriegserzählung.

Word by Word

सप्तसारस्वतम्the (tirtha) called Saptasārasvata

चand

एवindeed/just

तीर्थम्pilgrimage place; sacred ford

पुण्यम्holy, meritorious

तथाthus; likewise

स्मृतम्is remembered/said to be

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Saptasārasvata tīrtha

Sarasvatī (as the river tradition implied by ‘sārasvata’)

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 affirms the traditional authority of tīrthas: places connected with sacred rivers are ‘remembered’ as puṇya, and engaging them with reverence supports purification and dharmic orientation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana concludes a section that has just enumerated the seven Sarasvatī streams, stating that from this tradition arises (and is recognized) the supremely holy pilgrimage-site called Saptasārasvata.