Shloka 52
मातङ्ग–शक्रसंवादः
Mataṅga–Śakra Dialogue on Tapas, Status, and Moral Qualities
यथोपजीविनां धेनुर्देवादीनां धरा स्मृता । तथोपजीविनां गज्जा सर्वप्राणभृतामिह,जैसे धेनुस्वरूपा पृथ्वी उपजीवी देवता आदिके लिये आदरणीय है, उसी प्रकार इस जगतमें गंगा समस्त उपजीवी प्राणियोंके लिये आदरणीय हैं
yathopajīvināṁ dhenur devādīnāṁ dharā smṛtā | tathopajīvināṁ gaṅgā sarva-prāṇabhṛtām iha ||
यथोपजीविनां धेनुर्देवादीनां धरा स्मृता । तथोपजीविनां गङ्गा सर्वप्राणभृतामिह ॥
सिद्ध उवाच
Educational Q&A
To honor and protect life-sustaining sources: the Earth, like a nourishing cow, and the Gaṅgā, as a beneficent support for living beings. Reverence here implies ethical restraint, gratitude, and responsible conduct toward nature and sacred waters.
A Siddha delivers an instructive comparison: as dependents revere the Earth for sustaining them, so all living beings should revere the Gaṅgā. The verse functions as a moral-ritual endorsement of Gaṅgā’s sanctity within the Anuśāsana Parva’s didactic discourse.