Shloka 102
कृतयुगवर्णनम् तथा राजधर्मोपदेशः
Kṛtayuga Description and Instruction on Royal Dharma
गड्डां शतद्रं सीतां च यमुनामथ कौशिकीम् । चर्मण्वतीं वेत्रवर्ती चन्द्रभागां सरस्वतीम्,नरश्रेष्ठ फिर तो मैं उस महात्मा बालकके उदरमें घूमने लगा। घूमते हुए मैंने वहाँ गंगा, सतलज, सीता, यमुना, कोसी, चम्बल, वेत्रवती, चिनाव, सरस्वती, सिन्धु, व्यास, गोदावरी, वस्वोकसारा, नलिनी, नर्मदा, ताम्रपर्णी, वेणा, शुभदायिनी पुण्यतोया, सुवेणा, कृष्णवेणा, महानदी इरामा, वितस्ता (झेलम), महानदी कावेरी, शोणभद्र, विशल्या तथा किम्पुना--इन सबको तथा इस पृथ्वीपर जो अन्य नदियाँ हैं, उनको भी देखा
gaṅgāṁ śatadrūṁ sītāṁ ca yamunām atha kauśikīm | carmaṇvatīṁ vetravatīṁ candrabhāgāṁ sarasvatīm ||
Vaiśampāyana said: As I wandered within the belly of that great-souled child, I beheld many sacred rivers—Gaṅgā, Śatadrū, Sītā, Yamunā, Kauśikī, Carmaṇvatī, Vetravatī, Candrabhāgā, and Sarasvatī. The passage underscores the vision of the land’s life-giving waters as objects of reverence, suggesting inner pilgrimage and the sanctifying power of remembering holy places even amid extraordinary circumstances.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the sanctity of India’s rivers as tīrthas—sources of purification and dharmic merit—implying that remembrance or vision of sacred places can itself be spiritually elevating, even in unusual life situations.
The narrator (in Vaiśampāyana’s frame) describes a wondrous experience of moving about within the belly of a great child and, during that wandering, beholding a sequence of renowned rivers—an inner pilgrimage-like vision of sacred geography.