Mahabharata 3.107.66 — Vana Parva, Adhyaya 107, Shloka 66

Bhāgīratha’s Tapas and the Petition to Gaṅgā (गङ्गावतरण-प्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

तस्मै राज्यं समाधाय अंशुमानपि संस्थित: । दिलीपस्तु ततः श्रुत्वा पितृणां निधनं महत्‌

Transliteration

tasmai rājyaṃ samādhāya aṃśumān api saṃsthitaḥ | dilīpas tu tataḥ śrutvā pitṝṇāṃ nidhanaṃ mahat ||

Translation

Tendo-lhe confiado devidamente o reino, Aṃśumān também faleceu. Então Dilīpa, ao ouvir sobre a grande destruição de seus antepassados, foi tomado pela dor e começou a considerar o meio de lhes assegurar uma passagem bem-aventurada; por isso empreendeu esforços poderosos para fazer descer o rio Gaṅgā à terra.

Word by Word

• {'tasmai': 'to him

• unto that person (dative singular)', 'rājyam': 'kingdom

• sovereignty', 'samādhāya': 'having entrusted/handed over

• having duly arranged (absolutive of sam-ā-dhā)', 'aṃśumān': 'Aṃśumān (proper name)', 'api': 'also

• even', 'saṃsthitaḥ': "departed

• passed away (lit. 'stood/settled', used for death)", 'dilīpaḥ': 'Dilīpa (proper name)', 'tu': 'but

• then', 'tataḥ': 'thereupon

• then', 'śrutvā': 'having heard', 'pitṝṇām': 'of the forefathers/ancestors', 'nidhanam': 'death

• ruin', 'mahat': 'great

Speaker

सगर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sagara
• Aṃśumān
• Dilīpa
• pitaraḥ (ancestors/forefathers)
• Gaṅgā
• rājya (kingdom)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A king’s dharma includes continuity of righteous governance and responsibility toward ancestors; hearing of ancestral calamity, Dilīpa turns grief into purposeful action aimed at their spiritual welfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

After Aṃśumān hands over the kingdom and dies, Dilīpa learns of the great destruction of his forefathers and resolves to find a remedy—traditionally expressed as striving to bring Gaṅgā down to earth for their deliverance.