Shloka 6
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 60: Arjuna’s return, auspicious omens, and mission delegation
तथा भागीरथी गड्ढा उर्वशी चाभवत् पुरा । दुहितृत्वं गता राज्ञ: पुत्रत्वमगमत् तदा,इस प्रकार भगीरथकी पुत्री होनेसे गंगाजी भागीरथी कहलायीं और उनके ऊरुपर बैठनेके कारण उर्वशी नामसे प्रसिद्ध हुईं। राजाके पुत्रीभावको प्राप्त होकर उनका नरकसे त्राण करनेके कारण वे उस समय पुत्रभावको भी प्राप्त हुईं
tathā bhāgīrathī gaṅgā urvaśī cābhavat purā | duhitṛtvaṃ gatā rājñaḥ putratvam agamat tadā ||
ナーラダは言った。「かくして太古において、ガンガーはバギーラタ王の娘と見なされたゆえに『バーギーラティー』と呼ばれ、また王の腿の上に坐したゆえに『ウルヴァシー』として名高くなった。さらにその時、王女の位を受けて王の祖先を地獄より救い出す因となったため、祖霊救済のために『息子』の役目をも担ったと語られたのである。」
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic principle: social roles like ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ can be understood functionally in relation to duty—especially the duty of rescuing and sustaining one’s lineage through ancestral deliverance—so merit is tied to the act of protection and uplift, not merely to gendered labels.
Nārada explains traditional reasons for Gaṅgā’s epithets: she is called Bhāgīrathī because she is connected to King Bhagīratha as his ‘daughter’; she is called Urvaśī due to an association with his thigh (ūru). Because her role leads to the deliverance of the king’s ancestors from hell, she is also described as attaining the functional status of a ‘son’ (putratva).