Shloka 14

Kurukṣetra–Sarasvatī Tīrtha-Māhātmya

Pilgrimage Merits and Sacred Geography

Devanagari script

शुभे देशे तथा राजन पुण्ये देवर्षिसेविते । गड्ाद्वारे महाभाग देवगन्धर्वसेविते,महाभाग! पहलेकी बात है, देवताओं और गन्धर्वोसे सेवित गंगाद्वार (हरिद्वार)-तीर्थमें भागीरथीके पवित्र, शुभ एवं देवर्षिसेवित तट-प्रदेशमें श्रेष्ठ धर्मात्मा भीष्मजी पितृसम्बन्धी (श्राद्ध, तर्पण आदि) व्रतका आश्रय ले महर्षियोंके साथ रहते थे

Transliteration

śubhe deśe tathā rājan puṇye devarṣi-sevite | gaṅgādvāre mahābhāga deva-gandharva-sevite ||

Translation

നാരദൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ഹേ രാജാവേ, ശുഭവും പുണ്യവും നിറഞ്ഞ, ദേവർഷികൾ സേവിക്കുന്നതും ദേവന്മാരും ഗന്ധർവന്മാരും ആദരിക്കുന്നതുമായ മഹാഭാഗ ഗംഗാദ്വാരത്തിൽ (ഭീഷ്മൻ) പാർത്തു.

Word by Word

• {'śubha': 'auspicious, благоприятный', 'deśa': 'place, region', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'puṇya': 'holy, meritorious, sacred', 'devarṣi': 'divine seer (e.g., Nārada and other celestial ṛṣis)', 'sevita': 'frequented, attended, served by', 'gaṅgādvāra': '‘Gate of the Gaṅgā’ (Haridwar), a sacred tīrtha', 'mahābhāga': 'highly fortunate/noble one (honorific address)', 'deva': 'god, deity', 'gandharva': 'celestial musician

• a class of divine beings', 'Bhāgīrathī': 'name of the Gaṅgā associated with King Bhagīratha

• the river Gaṅgā in its upper course', 'pitr̥-sambandhī': 'connected with the ancestors (pitṛs)', 'vrata': 'vow, religious observance', 'śrāddha': 'ancestral rite/offerings for pitṛs', 'tarpaṇa': 'libation/oblations of water to deities/ṛṣis/pitṛs'}

Speaker

नारद उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Nārada
• King (rājan)
• Gaṅgādvāra (Haridwar)
• Gaṅgā / Bhāgīrathī
• Devarṣis
• Devas
• Gandharvas
• Bhīṣma
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Ṛṣis (sages)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharmic life anchored in sacred geography and disciplined observance: holy places (tīrthas) and the company of sages support ethical conduct, and honoring one’s ancestors through śrāddha/tarpaṇa is presented as a legitimate, meritorious duty within dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Nārada begins a recollection: he describes a past scene at Gaṅgādvāra on the Bhāgīrathī where Bhīṣma, living among ṛṣis, undertakes ancestral observances. The setting—visited by gods, Gandharvas, and divine seers—frames Bhīṣma’s conduct as exemplary and ritually grounded.