Shloka 38

Description of the Rules for Charitable Gifts and Related Rites

Gaṅgā-māhātmya

Devanagari script

तां तत्र पूजयेद्देवीं गंगां गगनमेखलाम् । अक्षयायां तु वैशाखे कार्तिकेऽपि शुभानने ॥ ३८ ॥

Transliteration

tāṃ tatra pūjayeddevīṃ gaṃgāṃ gaganamekhalām | akṣayāyāṃ tu vaiśākhe kārtike'pi śubhānane || 38 ||

Translation

तत्र तां देवीं गङ्गां गगनमेखलां पूजयेत्; वैशाखमासेऽक्षयायां तथा कार्तिकेऽपि, हे शुभानने।

Word by Word

• ताम्: her
• ताम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (कर्म), एकवचन; सर्वनाम (pronoun)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; देशवाचक क्रियाविशेषण (locative adverb: there)

• पूजयेत्: should worship
• पूजयेत्: Kriya (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूज् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (optative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; परस्मैपद

• देवीम्: the goddess
• देवीम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: देवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गङ्गाम्: Ganga
• गङ्गाम्: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गङ्गा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गगन-मेखलाम्: sky-girdled
• गगन-मेखलाम्: Visheshana (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गगन (प्रातिपदिक) + मेखला (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (gaganasyāḥ mekhaleva / gaganamekhalā: ‘having the sky as girdle’) विशेषण

• अक्षयायाम्: on Akṣayā (tithi)
• अक्षयायाम्: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्षया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (अधिकरण), एकवचन; तिथिवाचक/कालवाचक (on Akṣayā [tithi])

• तु: indeed
• तु: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• वैशाखे: in Vaiśākha
• वैशाखे: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैशाख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; मासवाचक (in Vaiśākha month)

• कार्तिके: in Kārtika
• कार्तिके: Adhikarana (अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्तिक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; मासवाचक (in Kārtika month)

• अपि: also
• अपि: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/निपात)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle: also/even)

• शुभ-आनने: O auspicious-faced (goddess)
• शुभ-आनने: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक) + आनन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति, एकवचन; कर्मधारय (śubham ānanam yasyāḥ सा: ‘she whose face is auspicious’); संबोधनार्थे/विशेषणरूपेण प्रयोग (vocative sense intended though form is सप्तमी; poetic usage)

Speaker

Sanatkumara (in dialogue with Narada)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: Akṣayā (Akṣaya-tṛtīyā) worship of Gaṅgā (tīrtha-vrata framing)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: bhakti

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Characters & Entities

• Ganga

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in Narada Purana?

It prescribes focused worship of Goddess Gaṅgā at the tīrtha, highlighting especially meritorious calendrical windows—Akṣaya-tṛtīyā in Vaiśākha and the month of Kārttika—when devotion and tīrtha-sevā are said to yield inexhaustible (akṣaya) spiritual fruit.

How does this verse explain the path of devotion (Bhakti)?

Bhakti here is expressed as reverent pūjā of Gaṅgā as a living Goddess; the verse frames devotion as time-sensitive sacred service—worship performed at holy places and holy times to intensify remembrance, purity, and grace.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

It reflects Jyotiṣa/Vedic calendrics in practice: selecting auspicious tithis and months (Akṣaya-tṛtīyā, Vaiśākha, Kārttika) for rites, a key ritual application of time-reckoning used in Purāṇic vrata and tīrtha observances.