Shloka 51
मातङ्ग–शक्रसंवादः
Mataṅga–Śakra Dialogue on Tapas, Status, and Moral Qualities
स्वायम्भुवं यथा स्थान सर्वेषां श्रेष्ठमुच्यते । सस््नातानां सरितां श्रेष्ठा गड़ा तद्गदिहोच्यते
svāyambhuvaṁ yathā sthānaṁ sarveṣāṁ śreṣṭham ucyate | snātānāṁ saritāṁ śreṣṭhā gaḍā tad gadihocyate ||
Dijo el Siddha: «Así como el reino de Svāyambhuva (Brahmā)—la morada suprema—es declarado el más excelso entre todos los mundos, así también, para quienes buscan purificarse mediante el baño, el río Gaḍā es proclamado el mejor entre los ríos».
सिद्ध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches hierarchical sacred value through analogy: as Brahmā’s highest abode is supreme among worlds, so the Gaḍā river is supreme among rivers for those seeking ritual purity and spiritual merit through bathing.
A Siddha is describing the greatness (māhātmya) of a tīrtha, praising the Gaḍā river as the foremost river for sacred bathing, using Brahmaloka’s supremacy as a comparison.