Mahabharata — Anushasana Parva, Shloka 26
ततस्तदीरिणं जात॑ समुद्रस्थावसर्पत: । तस्माद् देशान्नदीं चैव प्रोवाचासौ द्विजोत्तम:
tatas tadīriṇaṃ jātaṃ samudrasthāvasarpataḥ | tasmād deśān nadīṃ caiva provācāsau dvijottamaḥ |
પછી સમુદ્ર પોતાના સ્થાનથી ખસી જતાં તે પ્રદેશ રેતાળ ઊસર બની ગયો. ત્યારે તે દેશમાંથી વહેતી નદીને દ્વિજોત્તમ ઉતથ્યે કહ્યું—
अजुन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse links sacred ecology with dharma: a river is not merely water but a carrier of sanctity. When the divine river withdraws (becomes ‘invisible’/subterranean), the land is perceived to lose ritual purity, warning that moral and ritual order depends on honoring and preserving sacred sources.
The sea recedes, leaving a sandy wasteland. In that context, the sage Utathya addresses the Sarasvatī, urging her to become unseen and move into the desert region; he notes that if she abandons the area, the country will become impure.