Shloka 11

अज्ञान–लोभयोः परस्परहेतुत्वम्

Mutual Causality of Ignorance and Greed

Devanagari script

पुण्यमाहु: कुरुक्षेत्रं कुरुक्षेत्रात्‌ सरस्वतीम्‌ । सरस्वत्याश्ष तीर्थानि तीर्थभ्यश्व पृथूदकम्‌

Transliteration

puṇyam āhuḥ kurukṣetraṁ kurukṣetrāt sarasvatīm | sarasvatyāś ca tīrthāni tīrthebhyaś ca pṛthūdakam ||

Translation

शौनक बोले— कुरुक्षेत्र को पुण्य कहा गया है; कुरुक्षेत्र से भी अधिक पवित्र सरस्वती है; सरस्वती के तीर्थ उससे भी अधिक पवित्र हैं; और उन तीर्थों में पृथूदक सर्वोत्तम कहा गया है।

Word by Word

• {'puṇya': 'merit

• auspicious spiritual efficacy', 'āhuḥ': 'they say

• they declare (authoritative tradition)', 'kurukṣetram': 'Kurukṣetra (the Kuru field

• famed sacred region)', 'kurukṣetrāt': 'than Kurukṣetra (ablative of comparison)', 'sarasvatīm': 'Sarasvatī (river Sarasvatī)', 'sarasvatyāḥ': 'of Sarasvatī', 'ca': 'and', 'tīrthāni': 'sacred fords

• places of crossing/transition', 'tīrthebhyaḥ': 'than the tīrthas (ablative of comparison)', 'pṛthūdakam': 'Pṛthūdaka (a specific tīrtha

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śaunaka
• Kurukṣetra
• Sarasvatī
• Tīrthas (on Sarasvatī)
• Pṛthūdaka

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Holiness is presented as a hierarchy recognized by tradition: a sacred region (Kurukṣetra), a still more sanctifying river (Sarasvatī), the river’s specific tīrthas, and finally a preeminent tīrtha (Pṛthūdaka). The teaching encourages discerning pilgrimage—seeking places and practices believed to yield greater puṇya and inner purification.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka is speaking in a discourse on tīrthas and their relative spiritual potency. He cites a traditional ranking of sacred sites, culminating in the praise of Pṛthūdaka as foremost among Sarasvatī’s pilgrimage places.