Shloka 74
दिवि ज्योतिर्यथा5<दित्य: पितृणां चैव चन्द्रमा: । देवेशश्व॒ तथा नृणां गज्ञा च सरिता तथा,स्वर्गवासी देवताओंमें जैसे सूर्यका तेज श्रेष्ठ है, जैसे पितरोंमें चन्द्रमा तथा मनुष्योंमें राजाधिराज श्रेष्ठ है, उसी प्रकार समस्त सरिताओं में गंगाजी उत्तम हैं
divi jyotir yathādityaḥ pitṝṇāṃ caiva candramāḥ | deveśaś ca tathā nṝṇāṃ rājā ca saritāṃ tathā gaṅgā ||
The Siddha said: “Just as in heaven the Sun’s radiance is pre-eminent; just as among the Pitṛs the Moon is foremost; and just as among human beings the sovereign king stands supreme—so too, among all rivers, the Gaṅgā is the best.” The verse teaches a dharmic way of ranking excellence: recognizing what is most elevating and exemplary in each domain, and honoring it accordingly.
सिद्ध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse affirms that dharma recognizes exemplary standards within each sphere—Sun in the heavens, Moon among the ancestors, the sovereign among humans—and similarly honors Gaṅgā as the foremost river, encouraging reverence for what is spiritually and culturally pre-eminent.
A Siddha is speaking in a didactic context, offering comparative praise to establish Gaṅgā’s supremacy among rivers by analogy with universally acknowledged ‘best’ figures in other realms.