Shloka 5

गङ्गाधारणम् (Gaṅgādhāraṇa) — Śiva Bears the Descent of Gaṅgā

Devanagari script

शज्जैर्बहुविधाकारैर्धातुमद्धिरलंकृतम्‌ । पवनालम्बिभिममेंघै: परिषिक्ते समन्‍्ततः,नरेश्वरर! तपस्यासे सारा पाप नष्ट करके वे गंगाजीकी आराधना करना चाहते थे। उन्होंने देखा कि गिरिराज हिमालय विविध धातुओंसे विभूषित नाना प्रकारके शिखरोंसे अलंकृत है। वायुके आधारपर उड़नेवाले मेघ चारों ओरसे उसका अभिषेक कर रहे हैं

Transliteration

śaśjaiḥ bahuvidhākāraiḥ dhātumadbhiḥ alaṅkṛtam | pavanālambibhiḥ meghaiḥ pariṣikte samantataḥ, nareśvara!

Translation

Lomaśa said: “O king, they wished to worship the Gaṅgā after destroying their sins through austerity. They beheld the lordly Himālaya—adorned with many kinds of peaks and embellished with mineral-rich ores of varied forms—while clouds, borne along by the wind, poured down upon it from every side as though performing a consecration.”

Word by Word

• {'śaśjaiḥ (śikhaiḥ)': 'with peaks/summits (reading implied by context

• the printed form appears corrupt)', 'bahu-vidha-ākāraiḥ': 'of many kinds of forms/varieties', 'dhātu-madbhiḥ': 'possessing minerals/ores

• rich in metals', 'alaṅkṛtam': 'adorned, ornamented', 'pavana-ālambibhiḥ': 'supported/carried by the wind

• wind-borne', 'meghaiḥ': 'by clouds', 'pariṣikte': 'sprinkled, drenched

• as if anointed', 'samantataḥ': 'on all sides, everywhere around', 'nareśvara': 'O lord of men, O king', 'tapas': 'austerity, disciplined ascetic practice', 'pāpa': 'sin, moral demerit', 'naṣṭa': 'destroyed, removed', 'gaṅgā': 'the river Gaṅgā (Ganges)', 'ārādhanā': 'worship, devoted propitiation', 'himālaya': 'the Himālaya mountain range'}

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Lomaśa
• Himālaya
• Gaṅgā
• clouds (megha)
• wind (pavana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Austerity and self-discipline are presented as means of moral purification, preparing one for sincere worship; the scene links inner cleansing (removal of pāpa) with reverence for sacred places like Gaṅgā and Himālaya.

What is happening in the narrative?

Lomaśa describes how the travelers, intent on worshipping Gaṅgā after penance, behold Himālaya—its many peaks and mineral splendor—while wind-driven clouds drench it from all sides like a ritual consecration.