Shloka 40
The Greatness of Haridvāra
Gaṅgādvāra-māhātmya
यत्र शंतनुनां लब्धा गंगा मानुष्यमागता । तत्रैव तत्यजे देहं वसून्सूत्वानुवत्सरम् ॥ ४० ॥
yatra śaṃtanunāṃ labdhā gaṃgā mānuṣyamāgatā | tatraiva tatyaje dehaṃ vasūnsūtvānuvatsaram || 40 ||
An eben dem Ort, wo Gaṅgā—von Śaṃtanu erlangt—ins Menschenleben trat, legte sie dort selbst ihren Leib ab, nachdem sie die Vasus Jahr um Jahr geboren hatte.
Suta (narrating Purāṇic account within the Uttara-bhāga tirtha-mahātmya flow)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
FAQs
It highlights Gaṅgā’s divine freedom to assume and relinquish a human form for a dhārmic purpose—linking sacred geography (the place of her union with Śaṃtanu) with a Purāṇic event that sanctifies the tirtha.
Indirectly, it supports bhakti by portraying the Lord’s sacred river as a living divinity whose līlā sanctifies places and narratives—encouraging reverence, pilgrimage, and remembrance (smaraṇa) of holy acts connected to Gaṅgā.
No direct Vedāṅga instruction is given; however, the verse uses Itihāsa-Purāṇa style chronology (“anuvatsaram,” year by year), reflecting traditional narrative time-reckoning relevant to ritual calendars and tirtha observances.