Shloka 40
The Greatness of the Gaṅgā: Purification, Ancestor Rites, and Liberation
स्नानमात्रेण गंगायां सद्यः स्यात्पुण्यभाङ्नरः । प्रभासे गोसहस्रस्य राहुग्रस्ते दिवाकरे
snānamātreṇa gaṃgāyāṃ sadyaḥ syātpuṇyabhāṅnaraḥ | prabhāse gosahasrasya rāhugraste divākare
கங்கையில் வெறும் நீராடுதலாலேயே மனிதன் உடனே புண்ணியப் பங்காளி ஆகிறான். பிரபாசத்தில் ராகு கிரஸ்த சூரியன் (கிரகணம்) நேரத்தில் ஆயிரம் பசு தானத்திற்குச் சமமான புண்ணியம் என்று கூறப்படுகிறது.
Unspecified in the provided excerpt (context-dependent within Adhyaya 62 dialogue)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: tirtha
Sandhi Resolution Notes: स्यात् + पुण्यभाक् + नरः → स्यात्पुण्यभाङ्नरः (t + p sandhi; final k of भाक् becomes ṅ before n: भाक् + नरः → भाङ्नरः).
FAQs
It highlights two major tīrthas—Gaṅgā and Prabhāsa—presenting them as spiritually potent locations where simple acts (like bathing) are believed to yield great merit, mapping holiness onto specific places in the Purāṇic landscape.
While not explicitly devotional to a single deity, it reflects a bhakti-friendly Purāṇic ethos: sincere, accessible practices performed with faith—such as tīrtha-snān—are portrayed as quickly fruitful, encouraging devotional participation rather than elitist ritual complexity.
It promotes valuing simple, sincere religious discipline and reverence for sacred times and places; it also upholds the ideal of dāna (charitable giving) by using the well-known benchmark of “a thousand cows” to communicate the magnitude of spiritual benefit.