Shloka 20
गङ्गाधारणम् (Gaṅgādhāraṇa) — Śiva Bears the Descent of Gaṅgā
स्वर्ग नय महाभागे मत्पितृन् सगरात्मजान् | तेषामर्थेन याचामि त्वामहं वै महानदि
svarga naya mahābhāge matpitṝn sagarātmajān | teṣām arthena yācāmi tvām ahaṁ vai mahānadi ||
Lośa said: “O noble one, lead my forefathers—the sons of Sagara—to heaven. For their sake I beseech you, O great river.”
लोगश उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights pitṛ-dharma—responsibility toward one’s ancestors—expressed through humble supplication and the belief that sacred agencies (here, a great river) can aid in the ancestors’ attainment of svarga.
Lośa addresses a personified great river, pleading that it guide his forefathers, identified as Sagara’s sons, to heaven; the moment is framed as an earnest request made specifically for the ancestors’ welfare.