Shloka 23

गङ्गाधारणम् (Gaṅgādhāraṇa) — Śiva Bears the Descent of Gaṅgā

Devanagari script

न शक्तस्त्रिषु लोकेषु कश्चिद्‌ धारयितुं नूप । अन्यत्र विबुधश्रेष्ठान्नीलकण्ठान्महेश्वरात्‌,“राजन! देवश्रेष्ठ महेश्वर नीलकण्ठको छोड़कर तीनों लोकोंमें कोई भी मेरा वेग धारण नहीं कर सकता

Transliteration

na śaktas triṣu lokeṣu kaścid dhārayituṃ nūpa | anyatra vibudhaśreṣṭhān nīlakaṇṭhān maheśvarāt ||

Translation

“రాజా! దేవశ్రేష్ఠుడైన నీలకంఠ మహేశ్వరుని తప్ప మూడు లోకాలలో ఎవ్వరూ నా వేగాన్ని ధరించలేరు.”

Word by Word

नnot

शक्तःable, capable

त्रिषुin three

लोकेषुin the worlds

कश्चित्anyone, someone

धारयितुम्to bear, to sustain

नnot

ऊपO (particle of address)

अन्यत्रexcept, elsewhere than

विबुधश्रेष्ठात्from the best of the gods

नीलकण्ठात्from the Blue-throated one (Śiva)

महेश्वरात्from Maheśvara (the Great Lord)

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

nṛpa (king)

Maheśvara (Śiva)

Nīlakaṇṭha (Śiva)

tri-loka (three worlds)

vibudha (gods)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse asserts that truly overwhelming power must be matched by an equally supreme capacity to contain it; ethically, it points to humility and recognition of cosmic hierarchy—only the highest divine principle (Śiva as Nīlakaṇṭha) can bear certain forces.

What is happening in the narrative?

The speaker addresses a king and declares that no being across the three worlds can withstand or sustain the speaker’s momentum/force, making a deliberate exception only for Maheśvara (Śiva), famed as Nīlakaṇṭha.