Shloka 23

Brāhmaṇya-प्रश्नः — The Inquiry into Attaining Brāhmaṇya

Mataṅga–Gardabhī Itihāsa

Devanagari script

वैमानिक उपस्पृश्य किडकिणीकाश्रमे तथा । निवासे>प्सरसां दिव्ये कामचारी महीयते,जो वैमानिक और किड्किणीकाश्रमतीर्थमें स्नान करता है, वह अप्सराओंके दिव्यलोकमें जाकर सम्मानित होता और इच्छानुसार विचरता है

Transliteration

vaimānika upaspṛśya kiḍakiṇīkāśrame tathā | nivāse 'psarasāṁ divye kāmacārī mahīyate ||

Translation

Ajadriya said: One who performs the purificatory bath at the sacred ford called Vaimānika, and likewise at the Kiḍakiṇīkāśrama tīrtha, is honored after death in the radiant abode of the Apsarases and gains the freedom to move there according to one’s wish.

Word by Word

वैमानिकःa celestial (one who moves in aerial cars)

उपस्पृश्यhaving bathed (after ablution)

किडकिणीकाश्रमेin the hermitage called Kiḍakiṇīkā

तथाalso/likewise

निवासेin the abode

अप्सरसाम्of the apsarases

दिव्येdivine

कामचारीmoving at will

महीयतेis honored

Speaker

अजड्रिय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Ajadriya

Vaimānika (tīrtha)

Kiḍakiṇīkāśrama (tīrtha/āśrama)

Apsarases (apsaras)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that tīrtha-bathing (ritual purification undertaken with faith and discipline) is a dharmic act that generates puṇya, leading to honor and desirable posthumous attainments—here expressed as reaching the divine realm of the Apsarases and enjoying freedom of movement.

What is happening in the narrative?

A speaker named Ajadriya is listing the fruits of visiting specific sacred places. He states that bathing at the tīrthas called Vaimānika and Kiḍakiṇīkāśrama results in being honored in the heavenly dwelling associated with the Apsarases and gaining the ability to roam there at will.