Shloka 15

Account of Various Sacred Tīrthas

Pilgrimage Merits and Prayāga Supremacy

Devanagari script

मतंगस्य तु केदारं तत्रैव भरतर्षभ । तत्र स्नात्वा नरो राजन्गोसहस्रफलं लभेत्

Transliteration

mataṃgasya tu kedāraṃ tatraiva bharatarṣabha | tatra snātvā naro rājangosahasraphalaṃ labhet

Translation

E ali mesmo está o Kedāra de Mataṅga, ó o melhor dos Bhāratas. Ó Rei, o homem que ali se banha obtém mérito igual ao da dádiva de mil vacas.

Word by Word

• मतंगस्य: of Mataṅga
• मतंगस्य: सम्बन्ध (षष्ठी / Genitival relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मतंग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine)

• तु: but/indeed
• तु: सम्बन्ध-निर्देशक (discourse particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (particle), विरोध/विशेषार्थक (but/indeed)

• केदारम्: Kedāra (sacred place/field)
• केदारम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: केदार (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: there)

• एव: indeed/just
• एव: सम्बन्ध-निर्देशक (emphasis)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)
• Form: निपात (emphatic particle: just/indeed)

• भरतर्षभ: O best of the Bharatas
• भरतर्षभ: सम्बोधन (Address/Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत + ऋषभ (प्रातिपदिक-द्वय)
• Form: सम्बोधन-प्रथमा (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (bharatānām ṛṣabhaḥ = best of the Bharatas)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: अधिकरण (Adhikaraṇa/Location)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb: there)

• स्नात्वा: having bathed
• स्नात्वा: क्रियाविशेषण (Adverbial to main verb)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्ना (धातु) + त्वा (क्त्वा-प्रत्यय)
• Form: क्त्वान्त-अव्ययकृदन्त (Gerund/Absolutive), पूर्वकाल (having done earlier): स्नात्वा = having bathed

• नरः: a man
• नरः: कर्ता (Karta/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine)

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: सम्बोधन (Address/Vocative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: सम्बोधन (Vocative), एकवचन (Singular), पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine)

• गो-सहस्र-फलम्: the merit equal to (the gift of) a thousand cows
• गो-सहस्र-फलम्: कर्म (Karma/Object)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक) + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक) + फल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular), नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter); षष्ठी/कर्मधारय-प्राय तत्पुरुष (gōsahasrasya phalam = fruit equal to a thousand cows)

• लभेत: would obtain
• लभेत: क्रिया (Main action)
• Type: Verb
• Root: लभ् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), परस्मैपद

Speaker

Unspecified narrator addressing a king (rājan) and Bharata-hero (bharatarṣabha) within a tīrtha-māhātmya dialogue

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Geographic Context

Type: tirtha

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: तत्रैव = तत्र + एव; राजन्गोसहस्रफलं = राजन् + गोसहस्रफलम्

Characters & Entities

• Mataṅga
• Kedāra

FAQs

What does this verse reveal about the geography of sacred Tīrthas in the Padma Purāṇa?

It locates a specific tīrtha—“Mataṅga’s Kedāra”—and treats it as a recognized pilgrimage site where ritual bathing is prescribed as spiritually efficacious.

How does this verse frame religious practice—ritual, charity, or devotion?

It equates the merit of bathing at the tīrtha with the famed charitable act of gifting a thousand cows, showing how tīrtha-snānā is presented as a potent ritual act comparable to major dāna.

What is the ethical or practical lesson conveyed by comparing snāna to donating a thousand cows?

The comparison encourages accessible righteousness: even those unable to perform grand donations can pursue spiritual merit through disciplined pilgrimage and sacred bathing at revered sites.