Shloka 51
मातङ्ग–शक्रसंवादः
Mataṅga–Śakra Dialogue on Tapas, Status, and Moral Qualities
स्वायम्भुवं यथा स्थान सर्वेषां श्रेष्ठमुच्यते । सस््नातानां सरितां श्रेष्ठा गड़ा तद्गदिहोच्यते
svāyambhuvaṁ yathā sthānaṁ sarveṣāṁ śreṣṭham ucyate | snātānāṁ saritāṁ śreṣṭhā gaḍā tad gadihocyate ||
Disse o Siddha: “Assim como o reino de Svāyambhuva (Brahmā)—a estação suprema—é declarado o mais elevado entre todos os mundos, assim também, para aqueles que buscam purificação pelo banho, o rio Gaḍā é proclamado o melhor entre os rios.”
सिद्ध उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse teaches hierarchical sacred value through analogy: as Brahmā’s highest abode is supreme among worlds, so the Gaḍā river is supreme among rivers for those seeking ritual purity and spiritual merit through bathing.
A Siddha is describing the greatness (māhātmya) of a tīrtha, praising the Gaḍā river as the foremost river for sacred bathing, using Brahmaloka’s supremacy as a comparison.