Shloka 45
कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī
जगाम संदृष्टमनास्त्रिदिवं त्रिदशेश्वर: । जनमेजय! उनके ऐसा कहनेपर इन्द्रने सरस्वतीके कुंजमें विधिपूर्वक यज्ञ करके अरुणामें स्नान किया। फिर ब्रह्महत्याजनित पापसे मुक्त हो देवराज इन्द्र हर्षोत्फुल्ल हृदयसे स्वर्गलोकमें चले गये || ४३-४४ $ ।। शिरस्तच्चापि नमुचेस्तत्रैवाप्लुत्य भारत । लोकान् कामदुघान् प्राप्तमक्षयान् राजसत्तम,भारत! नृपश्रेष्ठ) नमुचिका वह मस्तक भी उसी तीर्थमें गोता लगाकर मनोवांछित फल देनेवाले अक्षय लोकोंमें चला गया
śirastac cāpi namuceḥ tatraivāplutya bhārata | lokān kāmadughān prāptam akṣayān rājasattama ||
Vaiśampāyana said: O Bhārata, and O best of kings, even the severed head of Namuci—having plunged in that very sacred ford—attained imperishable realms that grant the desired fruits. The passage underscores the purificatory power attributed to tīrthas: contact with a sanctified place and rite is portrayed as capable of transforming even a being associated with violence into a recipient of auspicious, enduring worlds.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s recurring idea that tīrtha-bathing and contact with sanctified places can confer powerful purification and merit, leading to ‘akṣaya’ (imperishable) realms—emphasizing the ethical potency attributed to sacred rites and locations.
Vaiśampāyana tells Janamejaya that Namuci’s head, by bathing in that same sacred spot, obtained wish-fulfilling, imperishable worlds—continuing the account of extraordinary results produced by that tīrtha.