Shloka 26
ततस्तदीरिणं जात॑ समुद्रस्थावसर्पत: । तस्माद् देशान्नदीं चैव प्रोवाचासौ द्विजोत्तम:
tatas tadīriṇaṃ jātaṃ samudrasthāvasarpataḥ | tasmād deśān nadīṃ caiva provācāsau dvijottamaḥ |
Luego, al retirarse el mar de su antiguo lecho, aquella extensión se volvió un yermo de arena. Al ver esa tierra y el río que la atravesaba, Utathya, el más excelso de los nacidos dos veces, se dirigió al río Sarasvatī: «Oh Sarasvatī, tímida, vuélvete invisible y marcha hacia las regiones del desierto. Oh auspiciosa, al ser abandonado por ti, este país quedará impuro.»
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links sacred ecology with dharma: a river is not merely water but a carrier of sanctity. When the divine river withdraws (becomes ‘invisible’/subterranean), the land is perceived to lose ritual purity, warning that moral and ritual order depends on honoring and preserving sacred sources.
The sea recedes, leaving a sandy wasteland. In that context, the sage Utathya addresses the Sarasvatī, urging her to become unseen and move into the desert region; he notes that if she abandons the area, the country will become impure.