Shloka 21
The Greatness of Bathing in the Ganges
Gaṅgā-snānā-mahātmya
चांद्रायणसहस्रस्य स फलं लभते ध्रुवम् । गङ्गा गङ्गा जपन्नाम योजनानां शते स्थितः ॥ २१ ॥
cāṃdrāyaṇasahasrasya sa phalaṃ labhate dhruvam | gaṅgā gaṅgā japannāma yojanānāṃ śate sthitaḥ || 21 ||
「ガンガー、ガンガー」と名を唱え続けるなら、百ヨージャナ離れていようとも、千のチャンドラーヤナ（Cāndrāyaṇa）誓戒を修したに等しい功徳を、必ずや得る。
Narada (teaching within the Ganga-mahatmya context)
Vrata: Cāndrāyaṇa
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It teaches that sincere remembrance and repetition of the sacred name “Gaṅgā” can confer immense purificatory merit—equal to severe expiatory vows—showing the extraordinary power of nāma (holy name) within tīrtha-mahātmyas.
By elevating simple nāma-japa (“Gaṅgā, Gaṅgā”) over arduous austerities, the verse emphasizes devotion expressed through constant remembrance and verbal repetition, a hallmark bhakti practice accessible even without physical proximity to the tīrtha.
It references the Cāndrāyaṇa vrata, a lunar-regulated penance tied to calendrical observance (Jyotiṣa/Vedic astronomy-astrology), indicating that ritual merit measured by time-and-moon disciplines can be matched by focused sacred-name practice.