Shloka 121

सूर्यरथ-कालचक्र-आयनविभागः, संध्योपासनम्, देवयान-पितृयानम्, विष्णुपद-गङ्गावतरणम्

Devanagari script

गङ्गा गङ्गेति यन् नाम योजनानां शतेष्व् अपि स्थितैर् उच्चारितं हन्ति पापं जन्मत्रयार्जितम्

Transliteration

gaṅgā gaṅgeti yan nāma yojanānāṃ śateṣv api sthitair uccāritaṃ hanti pāpaṃ janmatrayārjitam

Translation

Even from hundreds of yojanas away, the utterance “Ganga, Ganga” destroys the sins amassed across three births.

Word by Word

• गङ्गा: Ganga (the river-goddess)
• गङ्गा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• गङ्गा: “Ganga”
• गङ्गा: Sambodhana/Quotation (उद्धरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (उद्धरण/नामोच्चारणे)

• गङ्गा: “Ganga”
• गङ्गा: Sambodhana/Quotation (उद्धरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (उद्धरण/नामोच्चारणे)

• इति: thus; as (so-called)
• इति: Discourse marker (उद्धरणसूचक)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, उद्धरण-समाप्तिसूचक (quotative particle)

• यत्: which
• यत्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative pronoun)

• नाम: name
• नाम: Apposition (विशेष्य-सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नामन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन

• योजनानाम्: of yojanas (distance-measures)
• योजनानाम्: Sambandha (Genitive/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: योजन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन

• शतेषु: in hundreds
• शतेषु: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), बहुवचन

• अपि: even; also
• अपि: Modifier (अव्यय-विशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय, अवधान/समुच्चयार्थ (particle: even/also)

• स्थितैः: by (those) standing (at a distance)
• स्थितैः: Karta (Agent/कर्ता)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्था (धातु) + स्थित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), बहुवचन; कर्तृवाच्य-विशेषण

• उच्चारितम्: uttered; pronounced
• उच्चारितम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उद्+चर् (धातु) + उच्चारित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: भूतकृदन्त (क्त), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; कर्मणि-प्रयोगे (passive sense)

• हन्ति: destroys
• हन्ति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• पापम्: sin
• पापम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• जन्मत्रयार्जितम्: acquired over three births
• जन्मत्रयार्जितम्: Modifier of Karma (कर्म-विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जन्मन् (प्रातिपदिक) + त्रय (प्रातिपदिक) + अर्जित (कृदन्त)
• Form: समासः: जन्मत्रय- (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष: ‘of three births’) + अर्जित (क्त); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; पापम्-विशेषण

Speaker

Sage Parāśara (teaching Maitreya)

Parashara-Maitreya Dialogue

Speaker: Parasara

Topic: Sacred geography and the purificatory power of Gaṅgā (tīrtha-māhātmya).

Teaching: Devotional

Quality: authoritative

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Nāma-ucchāraṇa (uttering the sacred name) of Gaṅgā is efficacious in destroying accumulated pāpa beyond ordinary spatial limits.

Vedantic Theme: Dharma

Application: Cultivate daily nāma-smaraṇa (e.g., chanting “Gaṅgā” or other sacred names) with śraddhā, especially when direct pilgrimage is not possible.

Vishishtadvaita: Grace operates through sanctioned sacred media (tīrtha and nāma) within the Lord’s ordered world, enabling purification without denying embodied practice.

Vaishnava Theology

Vishnu Form: Hari

Bhakti Type: Shanta

Characters & Entities

• Ganga

FAQs

What is the significance of chanting “Ganga” in the Vishnu Purana?

This verse states that even the distant utterance of the name “Ganga” destroys sins accumulated over three lifetimes, emphasizing nāma as a direct purifier.

How does Sage Parāśara explain purification in this context?

Parāśara frames purification as not limited to physical proximity; the sanctity of a tirtha like the Ganga operates through remembrance and speech, reflecting a moral-spiritual law within dharma.

What is the theological importance of Vishnu in this context?

Though Vishnu is not named in the verse, the Vishnu Purana’s tirtha teachings are grounded in a cosmos governed by the Supreme Reality; the Ganga’s purifying power functions within that divinely ordered sovereignty.