Shloka 15
Saptasārasvata-tīrtha-prasaṅgaḥ | The Saptasārasvata Pilgrimage Account and the Maṅkaṇaka Narrative
कालज्ञानगतिश्ैव ज्योतिषां च व्यतिक्रम: । उत्पाता दारुणाश्वैव शुभाश्न जनमेजय
kālajñānagatiś caiva jyotiṣāṃ ca vyatikramaḥ | utpātā dāruṇāś caiva śubhāś ca janamejaya ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, there (at that sacred ford on the Sarasvatī) the great sage, the aged Garga—whose inner being had been purified by austerity—came to know all these matters: the knowledge of Time and its course, the irregular movements of the luminaries, dreadful portents, and also auspicious signs. That holy place came to be known by his name as Gargasrota.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Austerity and inner purity are presented as foundations for higher discernment: the sage Garga, purified by tapas, gains insight into Kāla (Time) and the reading of auspicious and inauspicious signs, implying that moral-spiritual discipline supports clear perception of cosmic order.
In the tīrtha-context on the Sarasvatī, the narrator explains that the aged sage Garga acquired knowledge of Time’s course, astral irregularities, and omens at that sacred place; the site becomes known as Gargasrota, linking sacred geography with remembered sage-activity and foreshadowing events through portents.