Shloka 55

Śiva-nāmānukīrtana-prastāvaḥ

Prologue to the praise of Śiva and the Upamanyu testimony

Devanagari script

विभूषितं पुण्यपवित्रतोयया सदा च जुष्टं नृप जह्लुकन्यया । विभूषितं धर्मभृतां वरिष्ठै- महात्मभिव॑द्लिसमानकल्पै:

Transliteration

vibhūṣitaṃ puṇyapavitratoyayā sadā ca juṣṭaṃ nṛpa jahlukanyayā | vibhūṣitaṃ dharmabhṛtāṃ variṣṭhair mahātmabhir adlisamānakalpaiḥ ||

Translation

ವಾಸುದೇವನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ನರೇಶ್ವರನೇ! ಆ ಸ್ಥಳವು ಪುಣ್ಯಪವಿತ್ರ ಜಲಗಳಿಂದ ಅಲಂಕರಿತವಾಗಿತ್ತು; ಜಹ್ನುವಿನ ಕನ್ಯೆಯಾದ ಜಾಹ್ನವೀ ನದಿ ಪ್ರೀತಿಯಿಂದ ಅದನ್ನು ಆಸ್ವಾದಿಸುವಂತೆ ಸದಾ ಅಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಚರಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಳು. ಧರ್ಮಧಾರಿಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಅಗ್ರಗಣ್ಯರಾದ, ಅಗ್ನಿಸಮಾನ ತೇಜಸ್ಸುಳ್ಳ ಅನೇಕ ಮಹಾತ್ಮರಿಂದಲೂ ಆ ಆಶ್ರಮಪ್ರದೇಶವು ಶೋಭಿತವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ಹೀಗೆ ಪುಣ್ಯಸಲಿಲ ಜಾಹ್ನವೀ ಆ ಪಾವನ ಪ್ರದೇಶದ ಸೌಂದರ್ಯವನ್ನು ನಿರಂತರವಾಗಿ ವೃದ್ಧಿಪಡಿಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದಳು।

Word by Word

• {'vibhūṣitam': 'adorned, beautified, made splendid', 'puṇya': 'merit-bearing, holy, auspicious', 'pavitra': 'purifying, sacred', 'toya/toyayā': 'water

• by water', 'sadā': 'always, continually', 'juṣṭam': 'frequented, resorted to

• cherished/served', 'nṛpa': 'O king', 'jahlukanyā (jahnu-kanyā)': 'daughter of Jahnu

• epithet of the river Gaṅgā/Jāhnavī', 'dharmabhṛtām': 'of those who uphold dharma', 'variṣṭhaiḥ': 'by the best, foremost', 'mahātmabhiḥ': 'by great-souled persons, noble sages', 'agni-samāna-tejas (implied by Hindi gloss)': 'having brilliance like fire'}

Speaker

वासुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāsudeva (speaker)
• nṛpa (the king, addressee)
• Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā river)
• Jahnu (as progenitor in the epithet jahnu-kanyā)
• mahātmāḥ (great-souled sages/virtuous men)
• a sacred region/field (kṣetra, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how sacred waters and the presence of dharma-upholding great souls sanctify and beautify a place. Ethical emphasis is placed on purity (pavitra), merit (puṇya), and the elevating power of association with the righteous.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāsudeva describes a holy region to the king, praising it as continually graced by the Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) and by many radiant, dharma-centered great men, thereby portraying the site as spiritually powerful and auspicious.