Shloka 19
Adhyāya 152 — Bhīṣma’s Authorization for Yudhiṣṭhira’s Return to the Capital (नगरप्रवेशानुज्ञा)
तथा देवनदी चेयं सर्वतीर्थाभिसम्भूृता । गगनाद् गां गता देवी गड्जा सर्वसरिद्वरा
tathā devanadī ceyaṁ sarvatīrthābhisambhṛtā | gaganād gāṁ gatā devī gaṅgā sarvasaridvarā ||
「また同様に、この神なる河——ガンガー——は、あらゆるティールタ（聖なる渡し場）の集まる処として崇められ、万流の最勝である。彼女は天より地へと降り、ここに在る。」
श्रीमहेश्वर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse elevates Gaṅgā as the supreme purifier and a living embodiment of tīrtha—suggesting that sacredness is not merely geographic but is accessed through reverence and dhārmic disposition; approaching such sanctity supports ethical self-purification and restraint.
Maheśvara points out Gaṅgā’s presence, describing her as the foremost river and a repository of all tīrthas, emphasizing that she has descended from heaven to earth and stands here as a sanctifying power within the scene being described.