Shloka 6
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 60: Arjuna’s return, auspicious omens, and mission delegation
तथा भागीरथी गड्ढा उर्वशी चाभवत् पुरा । दुहितृत्वं गता राज्ञ: पुत्रत्वमगमत् तदा,इस प्रकार भगीरथकी पुत्री होनेसे गंगाजी भागीरथी कहलायीं और उनके ऊरुपर बैठनेके कारण उर्वशी नामसे प्रसिद्ध हुईं। राजाके पुत्रीभावको प्राप्त होकर उनका नरकसे त्राण करनेके कारण वे उस समय पुत्रभावको भी प्राप्त हुईं
tathā bhāgīrathī gaṅgā urvaśī cābhavat purā | duhitṛtvaṃ gatā rājñaḥ putratvam agamat tadā ||
Nārada said: “Thus, in ancient times Gaṅgā came to be known as Bhāgīrathī, as she was regarded as the daughter of King Bhagīratha; and she became famed as Urvaśī because she sat upon his thigh. And at that time, by assuming the status of the king’s daughter and thereby becoming the means of delivering his ancestors from hell, she also came to be spoken of as having the role of a ‘son’—for the sake of ancestral rescue.”
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic principle: social roles like ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ can be understood functionally in relation to duty—especially the duty of rescuing and sustaining one’s lineage through ancestral deliverance—so merit is tied to the act of protection and uplift, not merely to gendered labels.
Nārada explains traditional reasons for Gaṅgā’s epithets: she is called Bhāgīrathī because she is connected to King Bhagīratha as his ‘daughter’; she is called Urvaśī due to an association with his thigh (ūru). Because her role leads to the deliverance of the king’s ancestors from hell, she is also described as attaining the functional status of a ‘son’ (putratva).