Shloka 13

Devanagari script

ततो गच्छेत राजेन्द्र देव्या: स्थान सुदुर्लभम्‌ । शाकम्भरीति विख्याता त्रिषु लोकेषु विश्रुता,राजेन्द्र! वहाँसे परमदुर्लभ देवीस्थानकी यात्रा करे, वह देवी तीनों लोकोंमें शाकम्भरीके नामसे विख्यात है

Transliteration

tato gacchet rājendra devyāḥ sthānaṃ sudurlabham | śākambharīti vikhyātā triṣu lokeṣu viśrutā ||

Translation

Then, O best of kings, one should proceed to the exceedingly hard-to-reach sacred abode of the Goddess. She is renowned in the three worlds by the name Śākambharī—inviting the king toward a demanding pilgrimage that honors divine protection and sustenance, and implying that perseverance and reverence are integral to righteous conduct.

Word by Word

ततःthen, from there

गच्छेत्should go

राजेन्द्रO king of kings

देव्याःof the goddess

स्थानम्abode, place

सुदुर्लभम्very difficult to obtain/approach

शाकम्भरीShakambhari (name of the goddess)

इतिthus, as

विख्याताrenowned, well-known

त्रिषुin the three

लोकेषुworlds

विश्रुताfamed, celebrated

Speaker

घुलस्त्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śākambharī (Devī)

rājendra (the addressed king)

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 underscores dharmic perseverance and devotion: a righteous person (here, the king) is urged to undertake even a difficult journey to a sacred site, honoring the Goddess who is universally renowned—suggesting that sincere reverence and effort toward the divine are ethically elevating.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker directs the king to go next to a highly inaccessible shrine of the Goddess, identifying her as Śākambharī, famed across the three worlds—functioning as a step in a sequence of sacred destinations (tīrtha/pilgrimage guidance).