Shloka 25
मज्जूषा त्वश्वनद्या: सा ययौ चर्मण्वतीं नदीम् । चर्मण्वत्याश्व यमुनां ततो गड़ां जगाम ह,वह पिटारी अश्वनदीसे चर्मण्वती (चम्बल) नदीमें गयी। चर्मण्वतीसे यमुनामें और वहाँसे गंगामें जा पहुँची
majjūṣā tv aśvanadyāḥ sā yayau carmaṇvatīṃ nadīm | carmaṇvatyāś ca yamunāṃ tato gaṅgāṃ jagāma ha ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: That casket, carried along by the current, went from the Aśvanadī to the river Carmaṇvatī; from the Carmaṇvatī it entered the Yamunā, and from there it reached the Gaṅgā. The verse underscores the inexorable movement of events—how what is set afloat by fate and human action is borne onward through the great channels of the world, until it arrives at a decisive meeting-point.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights inevitability and connectedness: actions and circumstances set something in motion, and it is carried onward through larger forces (here symbolized by rivers) toward an outcome. Ethically, it invites reflection on responsibility for what one 'sets afloat' and on the larger order that conveys consequences to their destination.
A casket is being borne downstream. It moves sequentially from the Aśvanadī into the Carmaṇvatī, then into the Yamunā, and finally reaches the Gaṅgā—marking its progress through major river systems toward where it will be found or become significant.