Shloka 85

Account of Various Sacred Tīrthas

Pilgrimage Merits and Prayāga Supremacy

Devanagari script

यद्यकार्यशतं कृत्वा कृतं गंगावसेवनम् । सर्वं तत्तस्य गंगापो दहत्यग्निरिवेंधनम्

Transliteration

yadyakāryaśataṃ kṛtvā kṛtaṃ gaṃgāvasevanam | sarvaṃ tattasya gaṃgāpo dahatyagniriveṃdhanam

Translation

Quand bien même on aurait commis des centaines de fautes, dès qu’on se met au service de la Gaṅgā et qu’on s’y réfugie, les eaux de la Gaṅgā brûlent tout cela, comme le feu dévore le bois.

Word by Word

• यदि: if
• यदि: Sambandha (Condition marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यदि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; शर्तार्थक (conditional particle: 'if')

• अकार्यशतम्: a hundred misdeeds
• अकार्यशतम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अकार्य (प्रातिपदिक) + शत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन; 'अकार्याणां शतम्' (genitive-tatpuruṣa)

• कृत्वा: having done
• कृत्वा: Kriya-viseshana (Prior action modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कृत्वा (क्त्वान्त)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्ययीभाव-रूप (gerund/absolutive); पूर्वक्रिया

• कृतम्: is done
• कृतम्: Karta-anvaya (Predicate adjective)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृ (धातु) → कृत (कृदन्त)
• Form: भूतकर्मणि कृदन्त (past passive participle); नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, एकवचन; here predicate with 'गंगावसेवनम्'

• गंगावसेवनम्: service/attendance of the Ganges
• गंगावसेवनम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक) + वसेवन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन; 'गङ्गायाः वसेवनम्' (genitive-tatpuruṣa)

• सर्वम्: all (of it)
• सर्वम्: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया (2nd/Accusative), एकवचन

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma (Object apposition/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन; सर्वनाम

• तस्य: of him/its
• तस्य: Sambandha (Possessor/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/Genitive), एकवचन

• गंगापः: the waters of the Ganges
• गंगापः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गाप्/गङ्गा-अप् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (आप्-शब्द), प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), बहुवचन; 'गङ्गाजलानि'

• दहति: burns up
• दहति: Kriya (Action/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: दह् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd), एकवचन

• अग्निः: fire
• अग्निः: Upamana (Standard of comparison/उपमान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• इव: like
• इव: Upama-marker (उपमा)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; उपमार्थक (comparative particle: 'like')

• इन्धनम्: fuel
• इन्धनम्: Karma (Object of implied 'burns'/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

Unspecified (narratorial verse within Svargakhaṇḍa context)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: karuna

Secondary Rasa: shanta

Geographic Context

Type: river

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: यद्यकार्यशतम् = यदि + अकार्यशतम् (स्वर-सन्धि). दहत्यग्निरिवेंधनम् = दहति + अग्निः + इव + इन्धनम् (व्यञ्जन-सन्धि: दहति+अग्निः→दहत्यग्निः; इव+इन्धनम्→इवेंधनम्).

Characters & Entities

• Gaṅgā

FAQs

What practice is praised in this verse?

It praises gaṅgā-vasevana—resorting to and serving the Gaṅgā (pilgrimage, reverent bathing, and devotional attendance).

What is the central moral teaching of the shloka?

Sincere engagement with a sacred tirtha, especially the Gaṅgā, is presented as a powerful means of purification that can eradicate even extensive wrongdoing.

Why is the metaphor of fire and fuel used here?

It conveys total consumption: just as fire fully burns fuel, the Gaṅgā’s waters are said to burn away accumulated demerit (pāpa) completely.