Shloka 46
Gautama–Śakra Saṃvāda: Karma, Loka-bheda, and the Restoration of the Elephant
गयां गयशिरश्वैव विपाशां स्थूलवालुकाम् | कृष्णां गंगां पजचनदं महाह्दमथापि च
gayāṁ gayaśiraś caiva vipāśāṁ sthūlavālukām | kṛṣṇāṁ gaṅgāṁ pañcanadaṁ mahāhradam athāpi ca ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra disse: “(Ouvi falar de) Gayā e Gayaśiras, do Vipāśā com suas largas margens arenosas, do rio Kṛṣṇā, do Gaṅgā, da terra dos cinco rios (Pañcanada) e também do grande lago.” No contexto, o rei enumera tīrthas célebres—lugares e águas sagradas—cuja lembrança e visita se associam à purificação, ao mérito e ao ideal ético de buscar o dharma pela peregrinação, e não pelo poder.
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s emphasis on tīrtha-yātrā—turning toward sacred places and waters as a dharmic means of inner purification and accruing merit, reminding rulers and householders that ethical renewal can be sought through restraint, reverence, and pilgrimage.
Dhṛtarāṣṭra is listing celebrated pilgrimage sites—rivers and holy locales—within a broader discourse on dharma and the fruits of visiting or honoring tīrthas, situating moral instruction within India’s sacred geography.