Shloka 13

Kāmyake Pāṇḍavānāṃ Bhojana-vyavasthā

Provisioning and Welfare in the Kāmyaka Forest

Devanagari script

स निवासो<भवद्‌ विप्र विष्णोर्जिष्णोस्तथैव च । यतः प्रववृते गड़ा सिद्धचारणसेविता,“देवता अथवा महात्मा महर्षि भी जिसे देखनेमें समर्थ नहीं, वह बदरी नामसे विख्यात पुण्यतीर्थ इनका आश्रम है; वही पूर्वकालमें इन श्रीकृष्ण और अर्जुनका (नारायण और नरका) निवासस्थान था। जहाँसे सिद्ध-चारणसेवित गंगाका प्राकट्य हुआ है

Transliteration

sa nivāso 'bhavad vipra viṣṇor jiṣṇos tathaiva ca | yataḥ pravavṛte gaṅgā siddha-cāraṇa-sevitā ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “O brāhmaṇa, that place became the dwelling of Viṣṇu (Nārāyaṇa) and likewise of Jiṣṇu (Arjuna). From there the Gaṅgā—revered and attended by Siddhas and Cāraṇas—issued forth.”

Word by Word

• {'saḥ': 'that (place/person)

• he/it', 'nivāsaḥ': 'dwelling, residence, abode', 'abhavat': 'became, came to be', 'vipra': 'brāhmaṇa

• learned priest/sage (vocative)', 'viṣṇoḥ': 'of Viṣṇu

• of Nārāyaṇa', 'jiṣṇoḥ': 'of Jiṣṇu (epithet of Arjuna: ‘the victorious’)', 'tathaiva': 'just so

• in the same manner', 'yataḥ': 'from where

• whence', 'pravavṛte': 'flowed forth

• issued (as a stream)', 'gaṅgā': 'the river Gaṅgā (Ganges), sacred river', 'siddha': 'perfected being

• accomplished celestial sage', 'cāraṇa': 'celestial bard/attendant

• a class of semi-divine beings', 'sevitā': 'served, attended, frequented, revered'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Viṣṇu (Nārāyaṇa)
• Jiṣṇu (Arjuna)
• Gaṅgā
• Siddhas
• Cāraṇas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a tīrtha as sacred not merely by geography but by association with divine and exemplary beings: where Nārāyaṇa and Nara (Arjuna) abide, the place becomes a locus of purity, and even the Gaṅgā’s manifestation is portrayed as sanctified by the presence and reverence of perfected beings (Siddhas, Cāraṇas).

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana identifies a holy location as the former residence of Viṣṇu (Nārāyaṇa) and Jiṣṇu (Arjuna/Nara) and notes that from that very place the river Gaṅgā is said to have issued forth, a site frequented by celestial perfected beings and bards.