Shloka 26

Adhyaya 57 — The Ninefold Divisions of Bharata: Mountains, Rivers, and Peoples

Sanskrit

गोदावरी भीमरथा कृष्णा वेण्याऽथापरा ।

तुंगभद्रा सुप्रयोगा वाह्या कावेरी तथापगा ॥

Transliteration

godāvarī bhīmarathā kṛṣṇā veṇyā tathāparā /

tuṅgabhadrā suprayogā vāhyā kāvery athāpagā //

Translation

கோதாவரி, பீமரதா, கிருஷ்ணா, வேண்யா; மேலும் துங்கபத்ரா, சுப்ரயோகா, வாஹ்யா, காவேரி—இவை புனித நதிகளாகப் பாய்ந்து செல்கின்றன என்று கூறப்படுகின்றன।

Word by Word

• गोदावरी: Godāvarī (river)
• गोदावरी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गोदावरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine/स्त्री), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

• भीमरथा: Bhīmarathā (river)
• भीमरथा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीमरथा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (भीमः रथः यस्याः/भीमरथा)

• कृष्णा: Kṛṣṇā (river)
• कृष्णा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृष्णा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• वेण्या: Veṇyā (river)
• वेण्या: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेण्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अथ: then/also
• अथ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Discourse marker)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; निपात (particle)

• अपरा: another (river)
• अपरा: Visheshana (विशेषण/Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विशेषण (qualifier)

• तुंगभद्रा: Tuṅgabhadrā (river)
• तुंगभद्रा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: तुंगभद्रा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (तुंगा च भद्रा च/तुंगभद्रा)

• सुप्रयोगा: Suprayogā (river)
• सुप्रयोगा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुप्रयोगा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; समासः कर्मधारयः (सु + प्रयोगा)

• वाह्या: Vāhyā (river)
• वाह्या: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाह्या (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• कावेरी: Kāverī (river)
• कावेरी: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कावेरी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• तथा: likewise/and
• तथा: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/Connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; क्रियाविशेषण (adverb)

• अपगा: Apagā (river)
• अपगा: Karta (कर्ता/Subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: अपगा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speakers

• Frame not explicit in the given excerpt; catalogue-style narration within Markandeya Purana

Verse Rasa

{ "primaryRasa": "shanta", "secondaryRasa": "adbhuta", "rasaIntensity": 0, "emotionalArcPosition": "", "moodDescriptors": [] }

Key Themes

• Geography
• Sacred rivers
• Tīrtha culture

FAQs

What is the philosophical or ethical takeaway?

The passage functions as a sacral map: naming rivers acknowledges them as life-giving mothers and as loci of purification, encouraging reverence for natural waters and pilgrimage ethics.

How does this fit the Pancalakshana (5 characteristics)?

Primarily aligns with Vaṁśānucarita/Prakṛti-geography adjunct material rather than the core five; it is a Purāṇic geographical catalogue supporting dharma through tīrtha and deśa awareness.

What is the esoteric significance?

Rivers are presented as purifying currents: symbolically, they represent the downward flow of grace (apagā) that carries away impurity and connects mountains, lands, and ocean—an image of continuity from source to dissolution.