Shloka 15

कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī

Devanagari script

आराध्य पशुभर्तारें महादेवं जगत्पतिम्‌ | तां देवीं मोक्षयामासु: सरिच्छेष्ठां सरस्वतीम्‌

Transliteration

ārādhya paśubhartāraṃ mahādevaṃ jagatpatim | tāṃ devīṃ mokṣayāmāsuḥ sariccheṣṭhāṃ sarasvatīm

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Having duly worshipped Mahādeva—lord of creatures and master of the world—they then set about releasing that goddess Sarasvatī, the foremost of rivers. The passage underscores that even in moments of crisis, right action is grounded in reverence and proper rites, and that liberation from constraint is sought through devotion aligned with dharma rather than through mere force.

Word by Word

• आराध्य: having worshipped
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-राध् (धातु)
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि, true

• पशुभर्तारम्: the lord/supporter of creatures
• पशुभर्तारम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पशुभर्तृ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• महादेवम्: Mahadeva (Śiva)
• महादेवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महादेव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• जगत्पतिम्: lord of the world
• जगत्पतिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत्पति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• ताम्: her/that (f.)
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• देवीम्: goddess
• देवीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• मोक्षयामासुः: they released / set free
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच् (धातु) / मोक्षयति (णिच्-प्रयोग)
• Form: लिट् (periphrastic perfect), Third, Plural, परस्मैपद, कर्तरि

• सरिच्छेष्ठाम्: the best among rivers
• सरिच्छेष्ठाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सरित् + श्रेष्ठा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• सरस्वतीम्: Sarasvatī (river/goddess)
• सरस्वतीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरस्वती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Mahādeva (Śiva)
• Sarasvatī

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that auspicious and effective action is preceded by proper worship and alignment with dharma: reverence to the divine (Mahādeva) becomes the ethical and ritual foundation for freeing what is constrained (here, the river-goddess Sarasvatī).

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrators describe how, after propitiating Mahādeva, the participants proceed to ‘release’ Sarasvatī, praised as the foremost of rivers—indicating a ritual or divine intervention by which the river-goddess is set free to flow or to resume her course.