Shloka 16
The Greatness of Bathing in the Ganges
Gaṅgā-snānā-mahātmya
भेदं सहस्रधा याति गिरिर्वज्रहतो यथा । गच्छंस्तिष्ठन्स्वपन्ध्यायञ्जाग्रद्भुंजन् हसन् रुदन् ॥ १६ ॥
bhedaṃ sahasradhā yāti girirvajrahato yathā | gacchaṃstiṣṭhansvapandhyāyañjāgradbhuṃjan hasan rudan || 16 ||
ਜਿਵੇਂ ਵਜ੍ਰ ਦੇ ਆਘਾਤ ਨਾਲ ਪਹਾੜ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਟੁਕੜਿਆਂ ਵਿੱਚ ਟੁੱਟ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ, ਤਿਵੇਂ (ਜੀਵ) ਵੀ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਢੰਗਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਵਿਖਰ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ—ਚਲਦਿਆਂ, ਖੜ੍ਹਿਆਂ, ਸੁੱਤਿਆਂ, ਧਿਆਨ ਕਰਦਿਆਂ, ਜਾਗਦਿਆਂ, ਖਾਂਦਿਆਂ, ਹੱਸਦਿਆਂ ਅਤੇ ਰੋਂਦਿਆਂ।
Suta (narrating the Purana in discourse form; teaching conveyed as a general doctrinal statement)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
FAQs
It portrays the inner condition of fragmentation—consciousness breaking into many directions across ordinary actions—implying the need for steadiness (ekāgratā) and integration through dharma and higher remembrance.
By highlighting how the mind scatters in every state (waking, eating, laughing, crying), it indirectly points to bhakti—steady remembrance of the Lord—as the unifying practice that gathers the mind back to one refuge.
No specific Vedanga (like Vyākaraṇa or Jyotiṣa) is taught directly; the practical takeaway is yogic-ethical discipline—observing the mind across activities and cultivating one-pointedness through japa, dhyāna, and vrata-based regulation.