Shloka 18
Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
विपाशा च वितस्ता च चन्द्रभागा इरावती । शतद्भूदेंविका सिन्धु: कौशिकी गौतमी तथा
vipāśā ca vitastā ca candrabhāgā irāvatī | śatadrū devikā sindhuḥ kauśikī gautamī tathā | yamunā narmadā caiva kāverīm atha nimnagām | ye nadīṣu uttamāḥ puṇya-salilāḥ sarasvatī virājamānāḥ samudre militaḥ | etāḥ sarva-saritāṃ prathamāḥ (pradhānāḥ) manyante |
Śrī Maheśvara bersabda: “Vipāśā, Vitastā, Candrabhāgā, Irāvatī, Śatadrū, Devikā, Sindhu, Kauśikī, dan Gautamī—serta Yamunā, Narmadā, dan Kāverī yang mengalir turun menuju samudra—semuanya hadir di sini. Di antara sungai-sungai, Sarasvatī bersinar sebagai yang paling unggul; airnya suci, dan ia termasyhur sebagai sungai yang bersatu dengan lautan. Mereka ini dipandang sebagai yang terdepan di antara segala aliran.”
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates tīrtha-s and sacred rivers as sources of purification and merit, presenting a dharmic worldview where geography is ethically charged: contact with holy waters and remembrance of revered rivers supports inner cleansing and religious duty.
Śrī Maheśvara enumerates prominent rivers and singles out Sarasvatī as especially eminent and holy, describing these waterways as foremost among streams and (in the case of Sarasvatī) as reaching/merging with the ocean—part of a broader sacred-topography discourse.