Shloka 20
गयस्य यजमानस्य गयेष्वेव महाक्रतुम्,राजा गय गयदेशमें ही एक महान् यज्ञका अनुष्ठान कर रहे थे। उनके यज्ञमें भी सरिताओंमें श्रेष्ठ सरस्वतीका आवाहन किया गया था। कठोर व्रतका पालन करनेवाले महर्षि गयके यज्ञमें आयी हुई सरस्वतीको विशाला कहते हैं
gayasya yajamānasya gayeṣv eva mahākratum | rājā gaya gayadeśe meva hī ekaṁ mahān yajñaṁ anuṣṭhānaṁ kar rahe the | unke yajñameṁ bhī saritāoṁ meṁ śreṣṭhā sarasvatīkā āvāhana kiyā gayā thā | kaṭhora-vratakā pālana karanevāle maharṣi gayake yajñameṁ āyī huī sarasvatīko viśālā kahate haiṁ |
Vaiśampāyana said: King Gaya, the sacrificer (yajamāna), was performing a great rite in Gaya itself, in the land of Gaya. In that sacrifice too, Sarasvatī—foremost among rivers—was invoked. The Sarasvatī who came to the sacrifice of the austere sage Gaya is spoken of as “Viśālā” (the Broad, the Expansive One).
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores dharma expressed through yajña and vrata: sacred rites are grounded in disciplined conduct, and holy rivers like Sarasvatī are treated as living, invocable presences within ritual and sacred geography.
Vaiśampāyana describes a great sacrifice performed by King Gaya in the Gaya region. Sarasvatī is invoked to the rite, and the form/presence of Sarasvatī that arrives there is referred to by the epithet ‘Viśālā’.