Shloka 46

Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant

Devanagari script

गयां गयशिरश्वैव विपाशां स्थूलवालुकाम्‌ | कृष्णां गंगां पजचनदं महाह्दमथापि च

Transliteration

gayāṁ gayaśiraś caiva vipāśāṁ sthūlavālukām | kṛṣṇāṁ gaṅgāṁ pañcanadaṁ mahāhradam athāpi ca ||

Translation

ധൃതരാഷ്ട്രൻ പറഞ്ഞു—“ഗയ, ഗയശിരസ്, വിശാല മണൽത്തീരങ്ങളുള്ള വിപാശാ, കൃഷ്ണാ നദി, ഗംഗ, പഞ്ചനദ ദേശം, കൂടാതെ മഹാഹ്രദം—ഇവയെക്കുറിച്ച് (ഞാൻ കേട്ടിട്ടുണ്ട്).”

Word by Word

गयाम्Gaya (sacred place)

गयशिरःGayaśiras (the head/peak of Gaya; a sacred spot)

चand

एवindeed/also

विपाशाम्Vipāśā (river Beas)

स्थूलवालुकाम्having coarse sand / sandy with large grains

कृष्णाम्Kṛṣṇā (river; also called Kṛṣṇaveṇī)

गङ्गाम्the Ganges

पञ्चनदम्Pañcanada (land/region of five rivers; Punjab)

महाह्रदम्a great lake/large pool

अथthen/also/next

अपिalso/even

चand

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Gayā

Gayaśiras

Vipāśā (Beas River)

Kṛṣṇā (Krishna River)

Gaṅgā (Ganges River)

Pañcanada (Pañjāb; land of five rivers)

Mahāhrada (great lake)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s emphasis on tīrtha-yātrā—turning toward sacred places and waters as a dharmic means of inner purification and accruing merit, reminding rulers and householders that ethical renewal can be sought through restraint, reverence, and pilgrimage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra is listing celebrated pilgrimage sites—rivers and holy locales—within a broader discourse on dharma and the fruits of visiting or honoring tīrthas, situating moral instruction within India’s sacred geography.