Shloka 96

Agastya–Lopāmudrā: Marriage, Austerity, and Conditions for Conjugal Union (लोमशकथितम्)

Devanagari script

वानीरमालिनी रम्या नदी पुलिनशोभिता । जहाँ गयशिर नामक पर्वत और बेंतकी पंक्तियोंसे घिरी हुई रमणीय महानदी है, जो अपने दोनों तटोंसे विशेष शोभा पाती है

Transliteration

vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | vaṇīramālinī ramyā nadī pulinaśobhitā | yatra gayaśira-nāmakaḥ parvataḥ, veṇṭakī-paṅkti-parivṛtā ca ramyā mahānadī ubhayataṭaviśeṣaśobhā ||

Translation

ヴァイシャンパーヤナは言った。「葦の花環に飾られ、砂の河岸により美を増す、心地よい大河がある。そこにはガヤシラスと呼ばれる山がそびえ、また、杖草の列に囲まれたその麗しき川は、両岸にわたり格別の輝きを放っている。」

Word by Word

वानीरमालिनीhaving garlands/rows of reeds (bamboo-like canes)

रम्याlovely, charming

नदीriver

पुलिनशोभिताadorned/beautified by sandbanks

Speaker

वैशग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Mahānadī (great river)

Gayaśira/Gayaśiras (mountain)

Pulinas (sandy banks)

Vaṇīra (reeds)

Veṇṭakī (cane/bamboo-like thickets; as a plant-row)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds sacred geography and the moral-aesthetic value of tīrtha-like landscapes: purity, serenity, and natural order are presented as conducive to reflection and dharmic orientation, even before any explicit instruction is given.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a beautiful region: a great river bordered by sandy banks and reed/cane rows, with the mountain named Gayaśiras nearby—setting the scene for events or travel within the forest-episode context.