Shloka 24
सरित: सर्वतश्नान्यास्तीर्थानि च सरांसि च | कूृपाश्न सप्रस्रवणा देहवन्तो युधिष्ठिर,उपासते महात्मानं॑ सर्वे जलचरास्तथा । समस्त सरिताएँ, जलाशय, सरोवर, कूप, झरने, पोखरे और तालाब, सम्पूर्ण दिशाएँ, पृथ्वी, पर्वत तथा सम्पूर्ण जलचर जीव अपने-अपने स्वरूप धारण करके महात्मा वरुणकी उपासना करते हैं
saritaḥ sarvataḥ snānyās tīrthāni ca sarāṃsi ca | kūpāś ca sa-prasravaṇā dehavantō yudhiṣṭhira upāsate mahātmānaṃ sarve jalacarās tathā ||
ନାରଦ କହିଲେ—ହେ ଯୁଧିଷ୍ଠିର! ସ୍ନାନଯୋଗ୍ୟ ସମସ୍ତ ନଦୀ, ସମସ୍ତ ତୀର୍ଥ ଓ ସରୋବର; ତଥା ପ୍ରବାହଯୁକ୍ତ କୂପ ଓ ଝରଣା—ଏହି ସବୁ ଦେହ ଧାରଣ କରି ମହାତ୍ମା ବରୁଣଙ୍କୁ ଉପାସନା କରନ୍ତି। ଏହିପରି ଜଳଚର ସମସ୍ତ ପ୍ରାଣୀ ମଧ୍ୟ ତାଙ୍କୁ ନମସ୍କାର କରେ।
नारद उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents water in all its forms—rivers, sacred fords, lakes, wells, and springs—as participating in reverence toward Varuṇa, the deity associated with waters and cosmic order. Ethically, it frames nature as aligned with dharmic order: purity, restraint, and reverence are not merely human duties but are mirrored by the world’s sacred structures.
Nārada addresses Yudhiṣṭhira and describes how all water-sources and aquatic beings, assuming their own embodied forms, worship the great-souled Varuṇa. The statement functions as a praise of Varuṇa’s sovereignty over waters and a sacralization of tīrthas and bathing-places within the epic’s broader discourse on sacred spaces and divine governance.