Shloka 51
मातङ्ग–शक्रसंवादः
Mataṅga–Śakra Dialogue on Tapas, Status, and Moral Qualities
स्वायम्भुवं यथा स्थान सर्वेषां श्रेष्ठमुच्यते । सस््नातानां सरितां श्रेष्ठा गड़ा तद्गदिहोच्यते,जैसे ब्रह्मलोक सब लोकोंसे श्रेष्ठ बताया जाता है, वैसे ही स्नान करनेवाले पुरुषोंके लिये गड़ाजी ही सब नदियोंमें श्रेष्ठ कही गयी हैं
svāyambhuvaṁ yathā sthānaṁ sarveṣāṁ śreṣṭham ucyate | snātānāṁ saritāṁ śreṣṭhā gaḍā tad gadihocyate ||
The Siddha said: “Just as the realm of Svāyambhuva (Brahmā)—the highest station—is declared the supreme among all worlds, so too, for those who seek purification by bathing, the river Gaḍā is proclaimed the best among rivers.”
सिद्ध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches hierarchical sacred value through analogy: as Brahmā’s highest abode is supreme among worlds, so the Gaḍā river is supreme among rivers for those seeking ritual purity and spiritual merit through bathing.
A Siddha is describing the greatness (māhātmya) of a tīrtha, praising the Gaḍā river as the foremost river for sacred bathing, using Brahmaloka’s supremacy as a comparison.