Shloka 23
गङ्गादर्शनम् तथा गुहसमागमः
Vision of the Gaṅgā and Meeting with Guha
प्रमदामिव यत्नेन भूषितां भूषणोत्तमैः।।2.50.23।।फलैः पुष्पैः किसलयैर्वृतां गुल्मैर्द्विजैस्तथा।शिंशुमारैश्च नक्रैश्च भुजङ्गैश्च निषेविताम्।।2.50.24।।
pramadām iva yatnena bhūṣitāṃ bhūṣaṇottamaiḥ ||2.50.23||
वह मानो कुलवधू हो, जिसे यत्नपूर्वक उत्तम आभूषणों से सजाया गया हो।
Just like a lady, Ganga is decorated with the best of ornaments; her banks are filled with fruits, flowers, tender leaves or shoots and (flowering) shrubs. It is inhabited by birds and brahmins and infested with sisumaras (small whales), crocodiles and serpents.
FAQs
Dharma as honoring sacredness: the personification dignifies the river, urging respectful conduct toward holy waters and the life they sustain.
A metaphorical flourish within the extended description of the Gaṅgā’s beauty.
Reverence and refined perception (saṃskāra): seeing the sacred in the natural world.