Shloka 31

कुमाराभिषेकप्रश्नः — Inquiry into Kumāra (Skanda) Investiture at Sarasvatī

Devanagari script

अरुणायां महाराज ब्रद्मावध्यापहा हि सा । नरश्रेष्ठ! महर्षियोंका यह मत जानकर सरिताओंमें श्रेष्ठ सरस्वती अपनी ही स्वरूपभूता अरुणाको ले आयी। महाराज! उस अरुणामें स्नान करके वे राक्षस अपना शरीर छोड़कर स्वर्गलोकमें चले गये; क्योंकि वह ब्रह्महत्याका निवारण करनेवाली है || २९-३० $ ।। एतमर्थमभिज्ञाय देवराज: शतक्रतु:ः

Transliteration

aruṇāyāṃ mahārāja brahmāvadhyāpahā hi sā | naraśreṣṭha mahārṣīṇāṃ etan mataṃ jñātvā saritāṃ śreṣṭhā sarasvatī svāṃ svarūpabhūtām aruṇāṃ ānayat | mahārāja tasyām aruṇāyāṃ snātvā te rākṣasāḥ śarīraṃ tyaktvā svargalokaṃ jagmuḥ, yasmāt sā brahmahatyā-nivāriṇī || etam artham abhijñāya devarājaḥ śatakratuḥ ||

Translation

वैशम्पायन उवाच— अरुणायां महाराज ब्रह्मवध्यापहा हि सा। नरश्रेष्ठ! महर्षीणां मतं ज्ञात्वा सरस्वती सरितां वरा, स्वस्वरूपभूतामरुणामानयामास। महाराज! तस्यामरुणायां स्नात्वा ते राक्षसाः शरीराणि त्यक्त्वा स्वर्गलोकं जग्मुः, यतः सा ब्रह्महत्यादोषं निवारयितुं समर्था॥ एतमर्थमभिज्ञाय देवराजः शतक्रतुः…

Word by Word

• {'aruṇāyām': 'in/at the river Aruṇā (locative singular)', 'mahārāja': 'O great king (vocative)', 'brahmahatyā': 'the sin of killing a brāhmaṇa

• ‘brahma-slaughter’', 'apahā / apahāriṇī': 'removing, taking away, dispelling', 'naraśreṣṭha': 'O best of men', 'mahārṣi': 'great seer, eminent ṛṣi', 'mata': 'view, settled opinion, doctrine', 'saritām śreṣṭhā': 'best among rivers', 'sarasvatī': 'the river-goddess Sarasvatī', 'svarūpabhūtā': 'constituting one’s own essence

• of the same essential nature', 'ānayat': 'brought, led, produced', 'snātvā': 'having bathed', 'rākṣasāḥ': 'rākṣasas (a class of powerful beings, often hostile/demonic)', 'śarīraṃ tyaktvā': 'having abandoned the body', 'svargaloka': 'the heavenly world', 'nivāriṇī': 'one who wards off, averts, removes', 'etam artham abhijñāya': 'having understood this matter/meaning', 'devarāja': 'king of the gods', 'śatakratu': '‘performer of a hundred sacrifices’, epithet of Indra'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Aruṇā (river)
• Sarasvatī (river-goddess)
• Mahārṣis (great seers)
• Rākṣasas
• Svarga (heaven)
• Indra (Śatakratu, Devarāja)
• Brahmahatyā (sin/taint)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage emphasizes the ethical idea that grave moral taints (like brahmahatyā) require purification and expiation, and that sacred tīrthas—understood as embodiments of divine power—are portrayed as capable of restoring moral and spiritual purity, enabling even deeply fallen beings to attain a higher state.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana explains that the river Aruṇā, brought forth by Sarasvatī after the seers’ counsel, has the power to remove the sin of brahmahatyā. Certain rākṣasas bathe in Aruṇā, abandon their bodies, and reach heaven. The verse then transitions to Indra (Śatakratu) reacting upon learning this.