Shloka 20
गड्जा महानदी वेणा कावेरी नर्मदा तथा । कुलम्पुना विशल्या च करतोयाम्बुवाहिनी
gaḍjā mahānadī veṇā kāverī narmadā tathā | kulampunā viśalyā ca karatoyāmbuvāhinī ||
ഭീഷ്മൻ പറഞ്ഞു—“(ഇനിയും) ഗഡ്ജാ, മഹാനദി, വേണാ, കാവേരി, നർമദാ; കൂടാതെ കുലമ്പുനാ, വിശല്യാ, കരതോയാ, അംബുവാഹിനി—ഈ നദികളെയും ഞാൻ സ്മരിക്കുന്നു.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Recollection and reverent naming of sacred rivers (and, by extension, divine powers) is presented as a dharmic act that purifies the mind and invites protection; it models reliance on sanctity, gratitude, and remembrance rather than aggression.
Bhīṣma continues a long protective enumeration (nāma-smaraṇa) by listing additional rivers. The verse is one segment of a broader litany in which holy beings and places are invoked to confer auspiciousness and safeguarding.