Shloka 20
“जहाँ समस्त प्राणियोंके आत्मा भगवान् ब्रह्माजीने पहले ही यज्ञ किया था। भरतकुलभूषण! ब्रह्माजीके उस प्रकृष्टयागसे ही उस स्थानका नाम “प्रयाग” हो गया ।। अगस्त्यस्य तु राजेन्द्र तत्राश्रमवरो नृप । तत् तथा तापसारण्यं तापसैरुपशोभितम्,'राजेन्द्र! वहाँ महर्षि अगस्त्यका श्रेष्ठ आश्रम है। इसी प्रकार तापसारण्य तपस्वीजनोंसे सुशोभित है
vaiśampāyana uvāca | yatra samasta-prāṇinām ātmā bhagavān brahmā pūrvam eva yajñaṃ cakāra | bharata-kula-bhūṣaṇa! brahmaṇaḥ tasya prakṛṣṭa-yāgāt eva tasya sthānasya nāma “prayāga” iti jātaṃ || agastyasya tu rājendra tatra āśrama-varo nṛpa | tat tathā tāpasāraṇyaṃ tāpasair upaśobhitam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “At that place, the blessed Brahmā—who is the inner Self of all living beings—performed a sacrifice long ago. O ornament of the Bharata line! From that excellent sacrificial rite of Brahmā, the place itself came to be known as ‘Prayāga.’ And there, O king, is the foremost hermitage of the sage Agastya; likewise that forest of ascetics is adorned by tapasvins.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Sacred places are framed as embodiments of dharma: a site becomes holy through yajña (right ritual action) and through the presence of tapasvins (disciplined ascetics). The passage links cosmic order (Brahmā’s sacrifice) with ethical-spiritual cultivation (Agastya’s hermitage and the ascetic forest).
Vaiśampāyana identifies a revered location and explains its name: it is called Prayāga because Brahmā once performed an eminent sacrifice there. He then notes that the area also contains the distinguished hermitage of the sage Agastya and a forest inhabited and beautified by ascetics.