Shloka 17
The Greatness of the Kāliṇdī (Yamunā): Merit of Bathing, Charity, and Faith
न समं विद्यते किंचित्तेजः सौरेण तेजसा । तद्वन्न यमुनास्नानं समानाः क्रतुजाः क्रियाः
na samaṃ vidyate kiṃcittejaḥ saureṇa tejasā | tadvanna yamunāsnānaṃ samānāḥ kratujāḥ kriyāḥ
Ничто не сравнится с сиянием солнечного света; так же и никакие обрядовые действия, рожденные жертвоприношениями, не равны омовению в Ямуне.
Unspecified (contextual narrator within Svarga-khaṇḍa dialogue)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: vira
Type: river
Sandhi Resolution Notes: किंचित्तेजः → किंचित् तेजः; तद्वन्न → तद्वत् न; यमुनास्नानं → यमुना-स्नानम् (षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष).
FAQs
It elevates Yamunā-bathing (tīrtha-snāna) as spiritually incomparable—surpassing even elaborate sacrificial rites—just as the Sun’s radiance is unmatched.
The comparison uses an absolute standard (the unrivaled brilliance of Sūrya) to emphasize the unrivaled merit attributed to bathing in the Yamunā.
It does not necessarily reject them; it asserts a hierarchy of efficacy in which Yamunā-snāna is praised as superior to rites ‘born of sacrifice’ (kratu-jāḥ kriyāḥ).