Shloka 40
The Greatness of Haridvāra
Gaṅgādvāra-māhātmya
यत्र शंतनुनां लब्धा गंगा मानुष्यमागता । तत्रैव तत्यजे देहं वसून्सूत्वानुवत्सरम् ॥ ४० ॥
yatra śaṃtanunāṃ labdhā gaṃgā mānuṣyamāgatā | tatraiva tatyaje dehaṃ vasūnsūtvānuvatsaram || 40 ||
ശന്തനു ലഭിച്ച ഗംഗാ ദേവി മനുഷ്യലോകത്തിലേക്ക് വന്ന അതേ സ്ഥലത്ത്, വർഷംതോറും വസുക്കളെ പ്രസവിച്ച് അവിടെ തന്നേ ദേഹം ഉപേക്ഷിച്ചു।
Suta (narrating Purāṇic account within the Uttara-bhāga tirtha-mahātmya flow)
Vrata: none
Rasa: {"primary_rasa":"adbhuta","secondary_rasa":"karuna","emotional_journey":"Wonder at Gaṅgā’s descent into human life shifts into poignant finality as she departs after bearing the Vasus."}
FAQs
It highlights Gaṅgā’s divine freedom to assume and relinquish a human form for a dhārmic purpose—linking sacred geography (the place of her union with Śaṃtanu) with a Purāṇic event that sanctifies the tirtha.
Indirectly, it supports bhakti by portraying the Lord’s sacred river as a living divinity whose līlā sanctifies places and narratives—encouraging reverence, pilgrimage, and remembrance (smaraṇa) of holy acts connected to Gaṅgā.
No direct Vedāṅga instruction is given; however, the verse uses Itihāsa-Purāṇa style chronology (“anuvatsaram,” year by year), reflecting traditional narrative time-reckoning relevant to ritual calendars and tirtha observances.