Shloka 3

Śibi’s Weighing of Dharma

The Hawk and the Dove Trial) — शिबेर्धर्मतुला (श्येन-कपोतोक्तिः

Devanagari script

एषा सरस्वती रम्या दिव्या चौधवती नदी । एतद्‌ विनशनं नाम सरस्वत्या विशाम्पते,प्राचीनकालमें प्रजापति दक्षने यज्ञ करते समय यह आशीर्वाद दिया था कि जो मनुष्य यहाँ मरेंगे वे स्वर्गलोकपर अधिकार प्राप्त कर लेंगे। यह रमणीय, दिव्य और तीव्र प्रवाहवाली सरस्वती नदी है और यह सरस्वतीका विनशन नामक तीर्थ है

Transliteration

lomaśa uvāca |

eṣā sarasvatī ramyā divyā caudvahatī nadī |

etad vinaśanaṃ nāma sarasvatyā viśāmpate |

Translation

Lomaśa said: “This is the lovely Sarasvatī—divine, a river of swift current. And this, O lord of the people, is the sacred ford called Vinaśana on the Sarasvatī.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'eṣā', 'definition': 'this (feminine demonstrative, referring to the river)'}, {'term': 'sarasvatī', 'definition': 'the river Sarasvatī

• also a sacred, divine presence associated with speech and learning'}, {'term': 'ramyā', 'definition': 'lovely, delightful, beautiful'}, {'term': 'divyā', 'definition': 'divine, celestial, sacred'}, {'term': 'caudvahatī', 'definition': 'swift-flowing, impetuous in current (describing the river’s force)'}, {'term': 'nadī', 'definition': 'river'}, {'term': 'etat', 'definition': 'this (neuter demonstrative, referring to the tīrtha)'}, {'term': 'vinaśanam', 'definition': 'Vinaśana

• lit. “disappearance/vanishing,” a named sacred place where the Sarasvatī is said to vanish'}, {'term': 'nāma', 'definition': 'by name

• called'}, {'term': 'sarasvatyāḥ', 'definition': 'of/on the Sarasvatī (genitive)'}, {'term': 'viśāmpate', 'definition': 'O lord of the people (honorific address)'}]

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Lomaśa
• Sarasvatī (river)
• Vinaśana (tīrtha/place)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames sacred geography as a support for dharma: certain places (tīrthas) are revered as divinely charged, and approaching them with reverence during pilgrimage is presented as a means of cultivating merit and spiritual orientation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Lomaśa, guiding the Pāṇḍavas on pilgrimage, points out the Sarasvatī and identifies a specific holy spot on it called Vinaśana, introducing the site’s sanctity within the tīrtha-yātrā sequence.