Shloka 22

Ārṣṭiṣeṇa’s Siddhi and the Tīrtha-Boons; Sindhudvīpa–Devāpi Brāhmaṇya; Viśvāmitra’s Tapas Begins

Devanagari script

ते श्रुत्वा वचनं तस्य ततस्तीर्थस्य मानद । कपालमोचनमिति नाम चक्कुः समागता:,मानद! तदनन्तर वहाँ आये हुए महर्षियोंने महोदर मुनिकी बात सुनकर उस तीर्थका नाम कपालमोचन रख दिया

Transliteration

te śrutvā vacanaṁ tasya tatas tīrthasya mānada | kapālamocanam iti nāma cakruḥ samāgatāḥ ||

Translation

Hearing his words, O bestower of honor, the sages who had assembled there then gave that sacred ford the name “Kapālamocana” (“the place of release from the skull-bond”). The episode underscores how a tīrtha receives its sanctity and name through remembered speech and the moral meaning attached to an act of purification and release.

Word by Word

तेthey

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

वचनम्speech, words

तस्यof him

ततःthen, thereafter

तीर्थस्यof the sacred ford/pilgrimage-place

मानदO giver of honor (epithet)

कपालमोचनम्‘Skull-release’ (name of the tīrtha)

इतिthus, as

नामby name, named

चक्रुःthey made, they named

समागताःassembled, having come together

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kapālamocana (tīrtha)

assembled sages (maharṣis)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Sacred places gain enduring religious meaning through remembered words and the ethical significance of purification—here expressed by naming the tīrtha “Kapālamocana,” a symbol of release from a binding impurity or burden.

What is happening in the narrative?

After hearing the relevant statement, the gathered sages formally designate the pilgrimage spot’s name as “Kapālamocana,” establishing its identity and sanctity for later tradition.