Shloka 5

Adhyaya 56 — The Descent and Fourfold Course of the Ganga; Jambudvipa’s Varshas and Their Conditions

Sanskrit

चतुर्ष्वपि पपाताम्बुविभिन्नाङ्घ्रिशिलॊच्चया ।

पूर्वा सीतेऽति विख्याता ययौ चैत्ररथं वनम् ॥

Transliteration

caturṣvapi papātāmbuvibhinnāṅghriśiloccayā /

pūrvā sīte 'ti vikhyātā yayau caitrarathaṃ vanam

Translation

एवं चतुर्ष्वपि दिक्षु जलं पतितं महाशिलासंघैर्विभक्तम्। पूर्वा धारा सीतेति प्रसिद्धा चैत्ररथवनं ययौ।

Word by Word

• caturṣu: in the four (quarters)
• caturṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/Location)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: catur (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: (Numeral) Saptamī vibhakti (Locative/सप्तमी), Bahuvacana (Plural/बहुवचन); used substantively ‘in the four (directions/quarters)’

• api: also/even
• api: Nipāta (निपात/Particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; particle (निपात) with inclusive sense ‘also/even’

• papāta: fell
• papāta: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: pat (धातु)
• Form: Laṅ-lakāra, Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• ambu-vibhinna-aṅghri-śilā-uccayā: (she) splitting rock-masses at the feet by water
• ambu-vibhinna-aṅghri-śilā-uccayā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier of implied sā)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ambu-vibhinna-aṅghri-śilā-uccaya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga (Feminine/स्त्रीलिङ्ग), Prathamā vibhakti (Nominative/प्रथमा), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन); samāsa chain: ambu (water) + vibhinna (split/divided) + aṅghri (foot) + śilā (rock) + uccaya (heap/mass) → ‘(she) whose rock-masses at the feet were split by water’ (contextual epithet)

• pūrvā: the eastern (stream)
• pūrvā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pūrvā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; used as name of the eastern stream

• sītā: Sītā (river)
• sītā: Karta (कर्ता/Subject; apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: sītā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; river-name

• ati: very/exceedingly
• ati: Nipāta (निपात/Intensifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ati (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; intensifier (उपसर्ग/निपात-भाव) ‘very/exceedingly’

• vikhyātā: well-known
• vikhyātā: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: vi-khyā (धातु)
• Form: Kṛdanta: Kta (Past passive participle/क्त), Strīliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana

• yayau: went
• yayau: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: yā (धातु)
• Form: Liṭ-lakāra (Perfect/लिट्), Prathama-puruṣa, Ekavacana, Parasmaipada

• caitraratham: Caitraratha (name)
• caitraratham: Karma (कर्म/Object; destination)
• Type: Noun
• Root: caitraratha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter/नपुंसकलिङ्ग) (as vana-name used with vanam), Dvitīyā vibhakti (Accusative/द्वितीया), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन)

• vanam: forest
• vanam: Karma (कर्म/Object; destination)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vana (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter/नपुंसकलिङ्ग), Dvitīyā vibhakti (Accusative/द्वितीया), Ekavacana (Singular/एकवचन)

Speakers

• Mārkaṇḍeya (continuing narration)

Primary Deities

• Gaṅgā (as source)
• Sītā (river-branch)

Shakti Aspects

• Gaṅgā’s eastern manifestation (Sītā) as a divine river

Key Themes

• Sacred Geography
• Directional cosmology
• Mythic rivers and forests

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

Sacredness is not confined to one locale: the one Gaṅgā becomes regionally named and accessible, indicating dharma’s availability across lands and peoples.

How does this fit the Pancalakṣaṇa (5 characteristics)?

Sthāna: directional division of rivers and naming of mythic regions (forests, continents).

What is the esoteric significance?

Naming the eastern flow ‘Sītā’ emphasizes the principle that the same purifying reality takes distinct identities when it nourishes different realms.