Shloka 26
मातङ्ग–शक्रसंवादः
Mataṅga–Śakra Dialogue on Tapas, Status, and Moral Qualities
सिद्ध उवाच ते देशास्ते जनपदास्ते5<श्रमास्ते च पर्वता: । येषां भागीरथी गड्ा मध्येनैति सरिद्वरा
siddha uvāca | te deśās te janapadās te āśramās te ca parvatāḥ | yeṣāṃ bhāgīrathī gaṅgā madhyenaiti saridvarā ||
O Siddha disse: “Ó brâmane, são supremamente meritórias—as mais abençoadas—essas terras, essas províncias, esses eremitérios e essas montanhas por cujo meio corre a Bhāgīrathī Gaṅgā, a mais excelsa dos rios.”
सिद्ध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches that proximity to the sacred Gaṅgā—Bhāgīrathī, praised as the foremost of rivers—confers exceptional religious merit upon the surrounding land, communities, and ascetic centers, highlighting the Mahābhārata’s ethic of tīrtha (pilgrimage) and sanctified geography as supports for dharma.
A Siddha addresses a Brahmin and extols the sanctity of regions, settlements, hermitages, and mountains through which the Gaṅgā flows, as part of the Gaṅgā-māhātmya (praise of the Gaṅgā) within the dāna-dharma discussions of the Anuśāsana Parva.