Shloka 19
Adhyāya 32: Tāpasānāṃ Darśanaṃ — Ascetics Seek to Identify the Pāṇḍavas
या या: पतिकृतान् लोका- निच्छन्ति परमस्त्रिय: । ता जाह्ववीजल क्षिप्र- मवगाहन्त्वतन्द्रिता:
yā yāḥ patikṛtān lokān icchanti paramastriyaḥ | tā jāhnavī-jala kṣipram avagāhantv atandritāḥ ||
“देवियो! तुममें से जो-जो परम साध्वी स्त्रियाँ अपने पतियों द्वारा प्राप्त लोकों को चाहती हैं, वे बिना आलस्य किए शीघ्र ही जाह्नवी (गंगा) के जल में अवगाहन करें।”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a dharmic ideal of unwavering marital fidelity and purposeful resolve: those who seek the posthumous realm associated with their husbands should act promptly and without lethargy, treating the transition as a disciplined, faith-grounded passage.
Vaiśampāyana reports an instruction addressed to the virtuous widowed women: if they wish to reach the realms attained by their husbands, they should immediately immerse in the waters of the Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā), marking a solemn transition within the Ashramavāsika narrative of endings and departures.