Shloka 40

Gaṅgā-Tīrtha Darśana and the Prelude to the Yavakrīta–Indra Exemplum (लोमश-युधिष्ठिर संवादः)

Devanagari script

नदी समड् च बभूव पुण्या यस्यां स्नातो मुच्यते किल्बिषाद्धि | त्वमप्येनां सनानपानावगाहै: सभ्रातृक: सहभारयों विशस्व,युधिष्ठिर! इसीसे समंगा नदी पुण्यमयी हो गयी। इसमें स्नान करनेवाला मनुष्य सब पापोंसे मुक्त हो जाता है। तुम भी स्नान, पान (आचमन) और अवगाहनके लिये अपनी पत्नी और भाइयोंके साथ इस नदीमें प्रवेश करो

Transliteration

nadī samaṅgā ca babhūva puṇyā yasyāṃ snāto mucyate kilbiṣād dhi | tvam apy enāṃ snāna-pānāvagāhaiḥ sabhrātṛkaḥ sahabhāryo viśasva, yudhiṣṭhira ||

Translation

Lomaśa sprach: „Dieser Fluss, die Samaṅgā, ist heilig geworden; wer in ihm badet, wird wahrlich von Sünde befreit. Darum tritt auch du, Yudhiṣṭhira—zusammen mit deinen Brüdern und deiner Gemahlin—in diesen Fluss: zum Baden, zum Schlürfen des Wassers als Reinigungsritus und zur völligen Untertauchung.“

Word by Word

• {'nadī': 'river', 'samaṅgā': 'Samaṅgā (name of the river)', 'babhūva': 'became', 'puṇyā': 'holy, meritorious, purifying', 'yasyām': 'in which', 'snātaḥ': 'one who has bathed', 'mucyate': 'is released, is freed', 'kilbiṣāt': 'from sin, from moral taint', 'hi': 'indeed, certainly', 'tvam api': 'you also', 'enām': 'this (river)', 'snāna': 'bathing', 'pāna': 'drinking (ritual sipping/ācamanam)', 'avagāhaiḥ': 'by immersions

• by entering/descending into (the water)', 'sa-bhrātṛkaḥ': 'together with (your) brothers', 'saha-bhāryaḥ': 'together with (your) wife', 'viśasva': 'enter, go in', 'yudhiṣṭhira': 'Yudhiṣṭhira (addressed)'}

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Lomaśa
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Samaṅgā river
• brothers (Pāṇḍavas, implied)
• wife (Draupadī, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes tīrtha-based purification: approaching a sacred river with the intent of ritual cleanliness and moral renewal (snāna, ācamanam/pāna, and avagāha) is presented as a means to remove ‘kilbiṣa’ (sin/taint) and restore dharmic clarity.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the Pāṇḍavas’ forest period and pilgrimage, the sage Lomaśa points out the sanctity of the river Samaṅgā and instructs Yudhiṣṭhira to enter it—along with his brothers and wife—for bathing and ritual sipping/immersion, promising freedom from sin through this sacred act.