Shloka 96
Pūjādi-kathana — Gaṅgā Vratas, Tenfold Worship, Stotra, and Mokṣa on the Riverbank
अर्द्धोदकेन जाह्नव्यां म्रियतेऽनशनेन यः । स याति न पुनर्जन्म ब्रह्मसायुज्यमेति च ॥ ९६ ॥
arddhodakena jāhnavyāṃ mriyate'naśanena yaḥ | sa yāti na punarjanma brahmasāyujyameti ca || 96 ||
जो जाह्नवी (गंगा) मध्ये अर्धोदकात राहून अनशनाने देहत्याग करतो, तो पुनर्जन्म पावत नाही आणि ब्रह्मसायुज्य प्राप्त करतो।
Narada (teaching Tirtha-mahātmya in Uttara-bhāga context)
Vrata: none
Rasa: {"primary_rasa":"shanta","secondary_rasa":"bhakti","emotional_journey":"Austere, inward renunciation through fasting in the Gaṅgā resolves into the promise of irreversible release and Brahman-union."}
FAQs
It presents Gaṅgā (Jāhnavī) as a supreme tīrtha where an extreme vow—fasting unto death while immersed waist-deep—can culminate in mokṣa, described here as freedom from rebirth and brahma-sāyujya.
Though the verse speaks in the language of tīrtha and vrata, its implied bhakti is surrender: approaching Gaṅgā as sacred, undertaking austerity with faith, and offering one’s final act as dedication toward the highest reality (Brahman).
Ritual discipline (kalpa/vrata-prayoga) is implied—observing a specific vow (anaśana) at a specified sacred locus (Jāhnavī) with a defined posture/condition (arddhodaka), reflecting procedural rigor typical of vrata literature.