Shloka 263
Avanti–Narmadā–Puṣkara Tīrtha-Kathana (धौम्यकथितं तीर्थवर्णनम्)
बाहुदा च नदी यत्र नन्दा च गिरिमूर्थनि । “वहीं तपस्वीजनोंसे सुशोभित पवित्र देववन नामक पुण्यक्षेत्र है, जहाँ पर्वतके शिखरपर बाहुदा और नन्दा नदी बहती हैं
bāhudā ca nadī yatra nandā ca girimūrdhani |
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «Hay una región sagrada llamada Devavana, hecha radiante por los ascetas. Allí, en la cumbre de la montaña, fluyen los ríos Bāhudā y Nandā, y señalan ese lugar como un tīrtha puro y de gran mérito.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s ethic of sanctity through purity, ascetic presence, and sacred geography: a place becomes a tīrtha not merely by location but by the sustained spiritual practice of tapasvins and the natural markers (rivers, mountain summit) associated with holiness.
Vaiśampāyana is describing a holy region encountered or referenced during the Vana Parva’s tīrtha-oriented narration, identifying Devavana and locating it by two rivers—Bāhudā and Nandā—flowing on the mountain top, thereby guiding the listener’s mental map of pilgrimage sites.