Srimad Bhagavatam — Navama Skandha, Shloka 28

Mahārāja Sagara, Kapila Muni, and the Deliverance of the Sixty Thousand Sons

Devanagari script

श्रीभगवानुवाच अश्वोऽयं नीयतां वत्स पितामहपशुस्तव । इमे च पितरो दग्धा गङ्गाम्भोऽर्हन्ति नेतरत् ॥ २८ ॥

Transliteration

śrī-bhagavān uvāca aśvo ’yaṁ nīyatāṁ vatsa pitāmaha-paśus tava ime ca pitaro dagdhā gaṅgāmbho ’rhanti netarat

Translation

La Personalidad de Dios dijo: Querido Aṁśumān, aquí está el animal que tu abuelo buscaba para el sacrificio; llévatelo. En cuanto a tus antepasados, reducidos a cenizas, solo pueden ser liberados por el agua del sagrado Ganges, y por ningún otro medio.

Synonyms

• śrī-bhagavān: Śrī Bhagavān (the Lord)
• śrī-bhagavān: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: śrī (प्रातिपदिक) + bhagavat (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; honorific epithet

• uvāca: said
• uvāca: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vac (धातु; वच् वचने)
• Form: Liṭ-lakāra (Perfect), 3rd person, Singular; Parasmaipada

• aśvaḥ: the horse
• aśvaḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aśva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular

• ayam: this
• ayam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun; Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; deictic with 'aśvaḥ'

• nīyatām: let (it) be taken/led
• nīyatām: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √nī (धातु; नी नयने)
• Form: Loṭ-lakāra (लोट्/Imperative), 3rd person, Singular; Ātmanepada (आत्मनेपद) passive/impersonal imperative: 'let it be led'

• vatsa: O dear child
• vatsa: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vatsa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative (8th), Singular; संबोधन

• pitāmaha-paśuḥ: (it is) your grandfather’s sacrificial animal
• pitāmaha-paśuḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitāmaha (प्रातिपदिक) + paśu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Singular; 'grandfather's animal (sacrificial horse)'

• tava: your
• tava: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tvad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun; Genitive (6th), Singular

• ime: these
• ime: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: idam (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun; Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction particle (समुच्चय-अव्यय)

• pitaraḥ: forefathers
• pitaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pitṛ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural

• dagdhāḥ: burnt
• dagdhāḥ: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa (विधेय)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: dagdha (कृदन्त; √dah दाहे)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st), Plural; PPP; predicate adjective for 'pitaraḥ'

• gaṅgā-ambhaḥ: the water of the Gaṅgā
• gaṅgā-ambhaḥ: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: gaṅgā (प्रातिपदिक) + ambhas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; object of 'arhanti'

• arhanti: they deserve/require
• arhanti: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √arh (धातु; अर्ह् योग्यतायाम्)
• Form: Laṭ-lakāra (Present), 3rd person, Plural; Parasmaipada

• na: not
• na: Pratiṣedha (प्रतिषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: Negation particle (निषेध-अव्यय)

• itarat: anything else
• itarat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: itara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (2nd), Singular; used substantively: 'anything else'

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Bhagavān (Kapila)
• Aṁśumān
• Sagara (implied)
• Sagara’s sons / forefathers (pitaraḥ)
• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What does the Srimad Bhagavatam say about the power of the Ganga to purify ancestors?

In this verse, the Lord states that Sagara’s forefathers, burned to ashes, can be purified only by the waters of the Gaṅgā—highlighting Gaṅgā-jala as uniquely sanctifying for ancestral deliverance.

Why did Lord Kapila tell Aṁśumān to take the horse back?

Because the horse was the rightful sacrificial animal of Aṁśumān’s grandfather (King Sagara) for the Aśvamedha, and the Lord clarifies it should be returned to complete the sacrifice properly.

Practical application of this teaching in modern life?

It teaches respect for dharma and responsibility to one’s lineage, while emphasizing that true purification comes through sacred, God-centered means—cultivating humility, devotion, and sincere acts of remembrance and prayer for one’s ancestors.