Shloka 25

Draupadī’s Instruction on Marital Conduct and Household Discipline (चित्तग्रहण-उपदेश)

Devanagari script

भारती सुप्रयोगा च कावेरी मुर्मुरा तथा । तुड़्वेणा कृष्णवेणा कपिला शोण एव च

Transliteration

bhāratī suprayogā ca kāverī murmūrā tathā | tuḍveṇā kṛṣṇaveṇā kapilā śoṇa eva ca ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya said: “(There are) the rivers Bhāratī and Suprayogā, and also Kāverī and Murmūrā; likewise Tuḍveṇā, Kṛṣṇaveṇā, Kapilā, and also the Śoṇa.” In this section, the sage’s cataloguing of sacred rivers functions as a moral-geographical map: it points the listener toward tīrthas where purification, restraint, and dharmic renewal are sought through pilgrimage and remembrance of holy waters.

Word by Word

भारतीBhāratī (a river/name)

सुप्रयोगाSuprayogā (well-applied/auspiciously flowing; a river/name)

चand

कावेरीKāverī (river)

मुर्मुराMurmurā (river/name)

तथाlikewise/also

तुड्वेणाTuḍveṇā (river/name)

कृष्णवेणाKṛṣṇaveṇā (the dark Veṇā; river/name)

कपिलाKapilā (river/name)

शोणःŚoṇa (river)

एवindeed/just

चand

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

Bhāratī (river)

Suprayogā (river)

Kāverī (river)

Murmūrā (river)

Tuḍveṇā (river)

Kṛṣṇaveṇā (river)

Kapilā (river)

Śoṇa (river)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse reinforces the Mahābhārata’s tīrtha ethos: remembering and visiting sacred rivers is presented as a means of inner cleansing and recommitment to dharma—cultivating restraint, truthfulness, and ethical renewal through contact with sanctifying places.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya is enumerating rivers as part of a broader description of holy places (tīrthas). The verse is a segment of that catalogue, naming multiple rivers revered as spiritually efficacious.