Shloka 20
गड्जा महानदी वेणा कावेरी नर्मदा तथा । कुलम्पुना विशल्या च करतोयाम्बुवाहिनी
gaḍjā mahānadī veṇā kāverī narmadā tathā | kulampunā viśalyā ca karatoyāmbuvāhinī ||
भीष्म म्हणाले—“(मी पुढे) गड्जा, महानदी, वेणा, कावेरी आणि नर्मदा; तसेच कुलम्पुना, विशल्या, करतोया आणि अम्बुवाहिनी—या नद्यांचेही स्मरण करतो.”
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.