Shloka 6
कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī
नृपश्रेष्ठ॒ वहाँ आकर उन महाभाग मुनियोंने देखा कि उस तीर्थकी दारुण दशा हो गयी है, वहाँ सरस्वतीका जल रक्तसे ओतप्रोत है और बहुत-से राक्षस उसका पान कर रहे हैं
nṛpaśreṣṭha vaḥ ākarāḥ te mahābhāgā munayaḥ dadṛśuḥ yat tasya tīrthasya dāruṇā daśā jātaiva; tatra sarasvatyā jalaṃ raktena otaprotam iva, bahavaś ca rākṣasāḥ tad pānaṃ kurvanti sma.
Vaiśampāyana said: O best of kings, when those illustrious sages arrived there, they saw that the sacred ford had fallen into a dreadful state. The waters of the Sarasvatī were saturated with blood, and many rākṣasas were drinking it—an ominous sign of the moral collapse and violence that had overwhelmed even holy places in the wake of war.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores how unchecked violence and adharma can defile even sacred spaces: when society collapses into cruelty, the sanctity of tīrthas is symbolically shown as polluted, serving as a moral warning about the far-reaching consequences of war.
As the sages arrive at a sacred ford on the Sarasvatī, they witness a horrifying scene: the river’s water appears soaked with blood, and rākṣasas are drinking it, indicating a dreadful disturbance and an ominous aftermath connected with the broader devastation of the war.