Shloka 19
The Greatness of the Kāliṇdī (Yamunā): Merit of Bathing, Charity, and Faith
किं रक्षितेन देहेन सुपुष्टेन बलीयसा । अध्रुवेण सुदेहेन यमुना मज्जनं विना
kiṃ rakṣitena dehena supuṣṭena balīyasā | adhruveṇa sudehena yamunā majjanaṃ vinā
Wozu taugt ein Leib, sorgsam bewahrt—wohlgenährt und kräftig—wenn dieser schöne Körper unbeständig ist und ohne das Bad in der Yamunā nicht geheiligt wurde?
Unspecified (narrative voice within Svarga-khaṇḍa context)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: river
Sandhi Resolution Notes: No major sandhi beyond internal compound: सुदेहेन = सु-देहेन (कर्मधारय).
FAQs
It contrasts physical fitness and careful bodily maintenance with the higher religious aim of purification through sacred acts—here, bathing in the Yamunā—while stressing the body’s impermanence.
In Purāṇic tirtha theology, immersion in a sacred river is a purifier and merit-producing act; the verse treats Yamunā-majjana as a spiritually meaningful use of embodied life.
Do not reduce life to bodily upkeep alone; use the temporary body for dharmic and purifying practices that cultivate spiritual benefit and remembrance of the sacred.