Shloka 30

Ārṣṭiṣeṇa’s Siddhi and the Tīrtha-Boons; Sindhudvīpa–Devāpi Brāhmaṇya; Viśvāmitra’s Tapas Begins

Devanagari script

विज्ञायातीतवयसं रुषड्गुं ते तपोधना: । तं च तीर्थमुपानिन्यु: सरस्वत्यास्तपोधनम्‌,उन तपस्वी पुत्रोंने तपोधन रुषंगुको अत्यन्त वृद्ध जानकर उन्हें सरस्वतीके उस उत्तम तीर्थमें पहुँचा दिया

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | vijñāyātītavayasaṃ ruṣaḍguṃ te tapodhanāḥ | taṃ ca tīrtham upāninyuḥ sarasvatyās tapodhanam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Reconnaissant que Ruṣaḍgu avait dépassé l’âge de la vigueur, ces ascètes, riches en austérités, le conduisirent au gué sacré de la Sarasvatī, un tīrtha révéré par les hommes de pénitence.

Word by Word

विज्ञायhaving known

अतीत-वयसम्one who has passed beyond youth; very aged

रुषड्गुम्Rushadgu (proper name)

तेthey

तपोधनाःascetics; those whose wealth is austerity

तम्that

चand

तीर्थम्ford; sacred bathing-place

उपानिन्युःthey led (him) near; they brought (him) to

सरस्वत्याःof Sarasvatī (river/goddess)

तपोधनम्austere; rich in austerity (as an epithet of the tīrtha)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Ruṣaḍgu

Sarasvatī (river)

Tīrtha (sacred ford)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Those grounded in tapas (spiritual discipline) should support and guide the aged toward places and practices that sustain dignity, purification, and peace; caring guidance is presented as a dharmic responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Ascetics, realizing that Ruṣaḍgu is extremely old, escort him to a revered tīrtha on the Sarasvatī—an established holy site associated with ascetic merit.