Shloka 20

Kapālamocana-tīrtha (Auśanasa) and Balarāma’s Sarasvatī Pilgrimage

Devanagari script

गयस्य यजमानस्य गयेष्वेव महाक्रतुम्‌

Transliteration

gayasya yajamānasya gayeṣv eva mahākratum | rājā gaya gayadeśe meva hī ekaṁ mahān yajñaṁ anuṣṭhānaṁ kar rahe the | unke yajñameṁ bhī saritāoṁ meṁ śreṣṭhā sarasvatīkā āvāhana kiyā gayā thā | kaṭhora-vratakā pālana karanevāle maharṣi gayake yajñameṁ āyī huī sarasvatīko viśālā kahate haiṁ |

Translation

Вайшампаяна сказал: Царь Гая (Gaya), жертвователь (yajamāna), совершал великий обряд в самой Гае, в земле Гаи. И в том жертвоприношении была призвана Сарасвати (Sarasvatī), наилучшая среди рек. Сарасвати, пришедшую на жертву подвижника Гаи, строгого в обетах, называют «Вишала» (Viśālā — Широкая, Просторная).

Word by Word

• गयस्य: of Gaya
• गयस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: गय
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• यजमानस्य: of the sacrificer/patron of the sacrifice
• यजमानस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: यजमान
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• गयेषु: in/among the Gayas (places called Gaya)
• गयेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गय
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• एव: indeed/only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• महाक्रतुम्: a great sacrifice (great rite)
• महाक्रतुम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाक्रतु
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• King Gaya
• Gaya (place/region)
• Sarasvatī (river/deity)
• Viśālā (epithet of Sarasvatī)
• Mahākratu (great sacrifice)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage underscores dharma expressed through yajña and vrata: sacred rites are grounded in disciplined conduct, and holy rivers like Sarasvatī are treated as living, invocable presences within ritual and sacred geography.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a great sacrifice performed by King Gaya in the Gaya region. Sarasvatī is invoked to the rite, and the form/presence of Sarasvatī that arrives there is referred to by the epithet ‘Viśālā’.