Shloka 263
Kapālamocana-tīrtha (Auśanasa) and Balarāma’s Sarasvatī Pilgrimage
आजगाम महाभागा सरिच्छेष्ठा सरस्वती । राजर्षियोंसे सेवित पुण्यमय ऋषभद्वीप तथा कुरुक्षेत्रमें जब महात्मा राजा कुरु यज्ञ कर रहे थे
ājagāma mahābhāgā saricchreṣṭhā sarasvatī | rājarṣibhiḥ sevitam puṇyamayaṃ ṛṣabhadvīpaṃ tathā kurukṣetram | yadā mahātmā rājā kuruḥ yajñaṃ karoti sma, tadā saritāṃ śreṣṭhā mahābhāgā sarasvatī tatra āgatā; tasyā nāma abhavat sureṇuḥ |
Vaiśampāyana disse: A abençoada Sarasvatī, a melhor entre os rios, veio àquela região sagrada—Ṛṣabhadvīpa e Kurukṣetra—frequentada por reis-sábios. Quando o magnânimo rei Kuru ali realizava um sacrifício, Sarasvatī chegou àquele lugar; e ali passou a ser conhecida pelo nome de Sureṇu.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage underscores the sanctifying power of dharmic action: when a righteous king performs yajña in a holy region honored by sages, even the landscape and its rivers are portrayed as participating in and being defined by that merit, reinforcing the ethical ideal that public leadership should be grounded in sacred duty.
Vaiśampāyana narrates that the river Sarasvatī, revered as the foremost of rivers, came to the sacred area of Ṛṣabhadvīpa and Kurukṣetra at the time when King Kuru was conducting a sacrifice; in that context she is said to have acquired the name Sureṇu.