Shloka 47
Adhyāya 6: Pañca-mahābhūta–guṇa-nirdeśa and Sudarśana-dvīpa
Five Elements, Sensory Qualities, and a Cosmographic Island
तत्र दिव्या त्रिपथगा प्रथम तु प्रतिषछ्ठिता । ब्रह्मलोकादपक्रान्ता सप्तधा प्रतिपद्यते,ब्रह्मलोकसे उतरकर त्रिपथगामिनी दिव्य नदी गंगा पहले उस बिन्दुसरोवरमें ही प्रतिष्ठित हुई थीं। वहींसे उनकी सात धाराएँ विभक्त हुई हैं
tatra divyā tripathagā prathamā tu pratiṣṭhitā | brahmalokād apakrāntā saptadhā pratipadyate ||
तत्र दिव्या त्रिपथगा प्रथमं तु प्रतिष्ठिता। ब्रह्मलोकादपक्रान्ता सप्तधा प्रतिपद्यते॥
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse presents a dharmic-cosmic principle: what is divine descends in an ordered way—first being properly established, then distributed for the benefit of many. Sacred waters symbolize purity and welfare when they flow within rightful channels.
Sañjaya describes the divine Gaṅgā: she descends from Brahmaloka, is first established at a particular locus, and from there becomes sevenfold as separate streams.