Shloka 32
Adhyaya 57 — The Ninefold Divisions of Bharata: Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples
विश्वस्य मातरः सर्वाः सर्वपापहराः स्मृताः ।
अन्याः सहस्रशश्चोक्ताः क्षुद्रनद्यो द्विजोत्तम ॥
प्रावृट्कालवहाः सन्ति सदाकालवहाश्च याः ।
मत्स्याश्वकूटाः कुल्याश्च कुन्तलाः काशिकोशलाः ॥
viśvasya mātaraḥ sarvāḥ sarvapāpaharāḥ smṛtāḥ /
anyāḥ sahasraśaś coktaḥ kṣudranadyo dvijottama //
prāvṛṭkālavahāḥ santi sadākālavahāś ca yāḥ /
matsyāśvakūṭāḥ kulyāś ca kuntalāḥ kāśikośalāḥ //
ಎಲ್ಲ ನದಿಗಳೂ ಲೋಕಮಾತೃಗಳೆಂದು ಸ್ಮರಿಸಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತವೆ; ಅವು ಸಮಸ್ತ ಪಾಪಗಳನ್ನು ನಿವಾರಿಸುತ್ತವೆ. ಹೇ ದ್ವಿಜಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ, ಇನ್ನೂ ಸಾವಿರಾರು ಸಣ್ಣ ನದಿಗಳೂ ಉಲ್ಲೇಖಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟಿವೆ. ಕೆಲವು ಮಳೆಗಾಲದಲ್ಲಿ ಹರಿಯುತ್ತವೆ, ಕೆಲವು ವರ್ಷಪೂರ್ತಿ—ಮತ್ಸ್ಯಾಶ್ವಕೂಟಾ, ಕುಲ್ಯಾ, ಕುಂತಲಾ, ಕಾಶಿಕೋಶಲಾ ಇತ್ಯಾದಿ।
FAQs
The ethical thrust is reverence plus responsibility: rivers sustain the world like mothers; therefore one should avoid polluting them and approach them with purity, gratitude, and restraint.
Geographical and dharma-supporting material (tīrtha/nadī praise). It is not sarga/pratisarga/manvantara/vaṁśa/vaṁśānucarita, but complements dharma by sacralizing landscape.
‘Sin-removal’ can be read inwardly: waters symbolize the mind’s cleansing flow; monsoon vs perennial streams mirror intermittent vs steady spiritual practice.