Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 42
The Greatness of the Gaṅgā
Gaṅgāmāhātmya
मकरस्थे रवौ गङ्गा यत्र कुत्रावगाहिता । पुनाति स्नानपानाद्यैर्नयन्तीन्द्रपुरं जगत् ॥ ४२ ॥
makarasthe ravau gaṅgā yatra kutrāvagāhitā | punāti snānapānādyairnayantīndrapuraṃ jagat || 42 ||
சூரியன் மகரத்தில் இருக்கும் போது, கங்கையில் எங்கு நீராடினாலும், நீராடுதல்-நீர்பானம் முதலிய புண்ணியச் செயல்களால் அவள் உலகைத் தூய்மைப்படுத்தி உயிர்களை இந்திரபுரத்திற்குத் திசைதிருப்புகிறாள்।
Narada (teaching in a tirtha-mahatmya context)
Vrata: Makara-saṅkrānti snāna (seasonal observance; not named as a vrata in the verse)
Primary Rasa: bhakti
Secondary Rasa: shanta
FAQs
It teaches that bathing in the Gaṅgā during the Sun’s Makara transit is a powerful purifier (pāvanatva), generating punya through simple sacred acts like immersion and sipping her water, with results described as leading toward Svarga.
Though focused on tirtha-ritual, it supports Bhakti by honoring Gaṅgā as a divine purifier and encouraging faith-filled, dharma-aligned practice; such reverent acts are presented as spiritually elevating and merit-producing.
It reflects Jyotiṣa/astral timing: the merit is linked to a specific solar ingress (Surya in Makara), showing the Narada Purana’s use of calendrical-astrological auspiciousness for ritual efficacy.