Shloka 80
मातङ्ग–शक्रसंवादः
Mataṅga–Śakra Dialogue on Tapas, Status, and Moral Qualities
विश्वलोकेषु पुण्यत्वाद् गड़ाया: प्रथितं यश: । यत्पुत्रान्सगरस्येतो भस्माख्याननयद् दिवम्,सम्पूर्ण लोकोंमें परम पवित्र होनेके कारण गंगाजीका यश विख्यात है; क्योंकि उन्होंने भस्मीभूत होकर पड़े हुए सगरपुत्रोंको यहाँसे स्वर्गमें पहुँचा दिया
viśvalokeṣu puṇyatvād gaṅgāyāḥ prathitaṃ yaśaḥ | yat putrān sagarasya ito bhasmākhyān anayat divam ||
Across all the worlds, the fame of the river Gaṅgā is celebrated because of her supreme sanctity; for she carried the sons of Sagara—who lay reduced to ashes—from this realm to heaven.
सिद्ध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical-religious idea that extraordinary purity (puṇyatva) has transformative power: association with a supremely sanctifying presence—here Gaṅgā—can confer uplift and auspicious destiny even upon the dead, underscoring the Mahābhārata’s emphasis on puṇya, śuddhi, and the efficacy of sacred means for welfare beyond death.
Siddha explains why Gaṅgā’s renown is universal: she enabled the sons of King Sagara, who had been reduced to ashes, to attain heaven by conveying/raising them from this world to the celestial realm—an allusion to the well-known Sagara-saga in which Gaṅgā’s descent becomes the means of their deliverance.