Shloka 19

Brāhmaṇya-प्रश्नः — The Inquiry into Attaining Brāhmaṇya

Mataṅga–Gardabhī Itihāsa

Devanagari script

कन्याकूप उपस्पृश्य बलाकायां कृतोदक:,कन्याकूपमें स्नान करके बलाका तीर्थमें तर्पण करनेवाला पुरुष देवताओंमें कीर्ति पाता है और अपने यशसे प्रकाशित होता है

Transliteration

kanyākūpam upaspṛśya balākāyāṃ kṛtodakaḥ, kanyākūpe snānaṃ kṛtvā balākātīrthe tarpaṇaṃ kurvan puruṣo devatāsu kīrtiṃ prāpnoti sva-yaśasā ca prakāśate

Translation

Ajaḍriya said: “One who bathes at Kanyākūpa and then performs the water-offering (tarpaṇa) at the Balākā sacred ford attains renown among the gods and becomes radiant through his own good fame.”

Word by Word

• कन्याकूपम्: Kanyākūpa (a sacred well/place)
• कन्याकूपम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कन्याकूप
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• उपस्पृश्य: having bathed/touched water (performed ablution)
• Type: Verb
• Root: उपस्पृश्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage as gerund)

• बलाकायाम्: in/at Balākā (tīrtha)
• बलाकायाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलाका
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• कृतोदकः: one who has performed the water-offering/oblations (tarpana)
• कृतोदकः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतोदक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

अजड्रिय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Ajadriya
• Kanyākūpa
• Balākā-tīrtha
• Devatāḥ (the gods)
• Tarpaṇa (water-offering rite)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that disciplined observance of tīrtha-rites—bathing for purification and offering water in tarpaṇa—generates puṇya that manifests as kīrti (good renown). Ethical emphasis lies on reverent, rule-guided conduct and honoring the divine through prescribed acts.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker enumerates the fruits of visiting specific sacred sites. Here, he states that bathing at Kanyākūpa and performing tarpaṇa at the Balākā tīrtha leads to divine recognition and the spreading of one’s honorable reputation.