Shloka 21
Gālava’s Eastern Ascent with Garuḍa; Counsel on Kāla and Upāya (उद्योगपर्व, अध्याय ११०)
अत्र विद्युत्प्रभा नाम जज्ञिरेडप्सरसो दश । अत्र विष्णुपदं नाम क्रमता विष्णुना कृतम्
atra vidyutprabhā nāma jajñire ’psaraso daśa | atra viṣṇupadaṃ nāma kramatā viṣṇunā kṛtam, uśīrabīje viprarṣe yatra jāmbūnadaṃ saraḥ |
Aquí nacieron diez apsarasas célebres con el nombre de Vidyutprabhā. Aquí también se halla lo que se llama la “Huella de Viṣṇu”, impresa por el Señor Viṣṇu cuando dio sus zancadas para medir los tres mundos. Oh vidente brāhmaṇa, en la región del norte, en el lugar llamado Uśīrabīja—donde hay un lago que reluce como el oro—el rey Marutta celebró antaño un sacrificio.
युपर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that dharma is sustained through remembrance of divine acts and through righteous royal conduct. Sacred places are not merely locations; they become moral landmarks because they preserve the memory of Viṣṇu’s cosmic stride and of a king’s exemplary sacrifice.
Yuparṇa points out a revered region: it is said to be the birthplace of ten Apsarases called Vidyutprabhā, it bears the mark of Viṣṇu’s step from the myth of measuring the worlds, and nearby at Uśīrabīja—by a golden lake—King Marutta is remembered as having performed a great sacrifice.