Shloka 14

Brahmā’s Enumeration of Primacies (Ādi) and the Supremacy of Knowledge

Jñāna

Devanagari script

तथा त्रिपथगा गड्जा नदीनामग्रजा स्मृता । तथा सरोदपानानां सर्वेषां सागरोडग्रज:,सब नदियोंमें त्रिपथगा गंगा ज्येष्ठ मानी गयी है। सरोवरोंमें सर्वप्रथम समुद्रका प्रादुर्भाव हुआ है

Transliteration

tathā tripathagā gaṅgā nadīnām agrajā smṛtā | tathā sarodapānānāṁ sarveṣāṁ sāgaro 'grajaḥ ||

Translation

ວາຍຸກ່າວວ່າ: «ເຊັ່ນດຽວກັບ ຕຣິປະຖະຄາ—ຄົງຄາ (Gaṅgā) ຜູ້ໄຫຼໃນສາມສາຍ—ຖືກຈື່ຈຳວ່າເປັນອັນດັບສູງສຸດໃນບັນດາແມ່ນ້ຳ, ດັ່ງນັ້ນໃນບັນດາອ່າງນ້ຳ ແລະແຫຼ່ງຮວບຮວມນ້ຳທັງປວງ, ມະຫາສະໝຸດຖືກນັບວ່າເປັນຜູ້ເກີດກ່ອນ ແລະເປັນອັນດັບສູງສຸດ»។

Word by Word

तथाthus; likewise

त्रिपथगाgoing in three paths (heaven/earth/netherworld)

गङ्गाGanga

नदीनाम्of rivers

अग्रजाelder; first-born; foremost

स्मृताis considered; is remembered as

तथाlikewise

सरोदपानानाम्of lakes and ponds

सर्वेषाम्of all

सागरःthe ocean

अग्रजःthe foremost; the eldest

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyu (Vāyudeva)

Gaṅgā

Sāgara (Ocean)

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 teaches recognition of rightful preeminence: just as tradition acknowledges Gaṅgā as chief among rivers and the Ocean as primary among bodies of water, one should similarly honor proper rank, excellence, and established order in ethical and social contexts.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyudeva is speaking and uses well-known natural exemplars—Gaṅgā and the Ocean—to make an illustrative comparison about primacy and acknowledged greatness, grounding the point in widely accepted sacred-geographical knowledge.