Shloka 11

अज्ञान–लोभयोः परस्परहेतुत्वम्

Mutual Causality of Ignorance and Greed

Devanagari script

पुण्यमाहु: कुरुक्षेत्रं कुरुक्षेत्रात्‌ सरस्वतीम्‌ । सरस्वत्याश्ष तीर्थानि तीर्थभ्यश्व पृथूदकम्‌,कुरक्षेत्रको पवित्र तीर्थ बताया गया। कुरुक्षेत्रसे अधिक पवित्र सरस्वती नदी है, उससे भी अधिक पवित्र उसके भिन्न-भिन्न तीर्थ हैं। उन तीर्थोंमें भी दूसरोंकी अपेक्षा पृथूदक तीर्थको श्रेष्ठ कहा गया है

Transliteration

puṇyam āhuḥ kurukṣetraṁ kurukṣetrāt sarasvatīm | sarasvatyāś ca tīrthāni tīrthebhyaś ca pṛthūdakam ||

Translation

ശൗനകൻ പറഞ്ഞു— കുരുക്ഷേത്രം പുണ്യമെന്നു പറയുന്നു; കുരുക്ഷേത്രത്തേക്കാൾ പവിത്രം സരസ്വതി; സരസ്വതിയിലെ തീർത്ഥങ്ങൾ അതിലും പവിത്രം; ആ തീർത്ഥങ്ങളിൽ പൃഥൂദകം ഏറ്റവും ശ്രേഷ്ഠമെന്നു പുകഴ്ത്തപ്പെടുന്നു.

Word by Word

• {'puṇya': 'merit

• auspicious spiritual efficacy', 'āhuḥ': 'they say

• they declare (authoritative tradition)', 'kurukṣetram': 'Kurukṣetra (the Kuru field

• famed sacred region)', 'kurukṣetrāt': 'than Kurukṣetra (ablative of comparison)', 'sarasvatīm': 'Sarasvatī (river Sarasvatī)', 'sarasvatyāḥ': 'of Sarasvatī', 'ca': 'and', 'tīrthāni': 'sacred fords

• places of crossing/transition', 'tīrthebhyaḥ': 'than the tīrthas (ablative of comparison)', 'pṛthūdakam': 'Pṛthūdaka (a specific tīrtha

Speaker

शौनक उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śaunaka
• Kurukṣetra
• Sarasvatī
• Tīrthas (on Sarasvatī)
• Pṛthūdaka

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Holiness is presented as a hierarchy recognized by tradition: a sacred region (Kurukṣetra), a still more sanctifying river (Sarasvatī), the river’s specific tīrthas, and finally a preeminent tīrtha (Pṛthūdaka). The teaching encourages discerning pilgrimage—seeking places and practices believed to yield greater puṇya and inner purification.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śaunaka is speaking in a discourse on tīrthas and their relative spiritual potency. He cites a traditional ranking of sacred sites, culminating in the praise of Pṛthūdaka as foremost among Sarasvatī’s pilgrimage places.