Shloka 20

Devanagari script

गोदावरी कृष्णवेणा कावेरी च सरिद्वधरा । किम्पुना च विशल्या च तथा वैतरणी नदी,गोदावरी, कृष्णवेणा, सरिताओंमें श्रेष्ठ कावेरी, किम्पुना, विशल्या, वैतरणी नदी,

Transliteration

godāvarī kṛṣṇaveṇā kāverī ca saridvarā | kimpunā ca viśalyā ca tathā vaitaraṇī nadī ||

Translation

Nārada said: “(There are) the rivers Godāvarī, Kṛṣṇaveṇā, and Kāverī—foremost among rivers—along with Kimpunā, Viśalyā, and the river Vaitaraṇī.”

Word by Word

गोदावरीGodāvarī (river)

कृष्णवेणाKṛṣṇaveṇā (river; 'dark Veṇā')

कावेरीKāverī (river)

चand

सरित्-वधराbearing rivers / river-bearing (epithet)

किम्पुनाKimpunā (river)

चand

विशल्याViśalyā (river)

चand

तथाlikewise, also

वैindeed

वैतरणीVaitaraṇī (river)

नदीriver

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

Nārada

Godāvarī River

Kṛṣṇaveṇā River

Kāverī River

Kimpunā River

Viśalyā River

Vaitaraṇī River

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 reinforces reverence for sacred rivers as supports of dharmic life—sites of purification, ritual, and remembrance—suggesting that honoring such places aligns one with moral and religious order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada is enumerating notable rivers as part of a descriptive catalogue, situating the listener within a sacred landscape by naming prominent waterways.