Shloka 96

Agastya–Lopāmudrā: Marriage, Austerity, and Conditions for Conjugal Union (लोमशकथितम्)

Devanagari script

वानीरमालिनी रम्या नदी पुलिनशोभिता । जहाँ गयशिर नामक पर्वत और बेंतकी पंक्तियोंसे घिरी हुई रमणीय महानदी है, जो अपने दोनों तटोंसे विशेष शोभा पाती है

Transliteration

vaiśaṃpāyana uvāca | vaṇīramālinī ramyā nadī pulinaśobhitā | yatra gayaśira-nāmakaḥ parvataḥ, veṇṭakī-paṅkti-parivṛtā ca ramyā mahānadī ubhayataṭaviśeṣaśobhā ||

Translation

वैशंपायन म्हणाले—तेथे बेंतांच्या माळांनी अलंकृत व वाळूच्या पुलिनांनी शोभणारी एक रम्य महानदी आहे. तेथेच ‘गयशिर’ नावाचा पर्वत आहे; आणि बेंतकीच्या रांगांनी वेढलेली ती मनोहर नदी आपल्या दोन्ही तीरांनी विशेष शोभा पावते.

Word by Word

• वानीरमालिनी: having garlands/rows of reeds (bamboo-like canes)
• वानीरमालिनी: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वानीर-मालिन्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• रम्या: lovely, charming
• रम्या: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रम्य
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• नदी: river
• नदी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• पुलिनशोभिता: adorned/beautified by sandbanks
• पुलिनशोभिता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पुलिन-शोभित
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

वैशग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Mahānadī (great river)
• Gayaśira/Gayaśiras (mountain)
• Pulinas (sandy banks)
• Vaṇīra (reeds)
• Veṇṭakī (cane/bamboo-like thickets; as a plant-row)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds sacred geography and the moral-aesthetic value of tīrtha-like landscapes: purity, serenity, and natural order are presented as conducive to reflection and dharmic orientation, even before any explicit instruction is given.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a beautiful region: a great river bordered by sandy banks and reed/cane rows, with the mountain named Gayaśiras nearby—setting the scene for events or travel within the forest-episode context.