Shloka 10

Viṣṇu-sahasranāma—Yudhiṣṭhira’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Recitation (विष्णोर्नामसहस्रम्)

Devanagari script

श्रूयन्ते यानि तीर्थानि त्रिषु लोकेषु कानिचित्‌

Transliteration

śrūyante yāni tīrthāni triṣu lokeṣu kānicit | teṣu sarveṣu yat puṇyaṁ snānāt prāpnoti mānavaḥ || gośṛṅgajalasekena mastakasya tad eva hi ||

Translation

บรรดาทิรถะทั้งหลายที่เลื่องลือในสามโลก—อันเหล่าสิทธะ จารณะ และมหาฤๅษีสถิตและสัญจรไปมา—บุคคลอาบน้ำในทิรถะเหล่านั้นทั้งหมดได้ผลบุญประการใด ผลบุญประการนั้นย่อมได้เช่นกันด้วยการพรมน้ำที่สัมผัสเขาโคลงบนเศียรของตน

Word by Word

• श्रूयन्ते: are heard/are spoken of
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (धातु)
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपद, कर्मणि, प्रथम, बहुवचन

• यानि: which
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• तीर्थानि: pilgrimage-places/holy fords
• तीर्थानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तीर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• त्रिषु: in three
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसक (सामान्यतः), सप्तमी, बहुवचन

• लोकेषु: in the worlds
• लोकेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, बहुवचन

• कानि: some/any (which ones)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: किम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• चित्: indeed/at all/ever (enclitic, giving indefiniteness)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चित् (निपात/अव्यय)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Bhīṣma
• tīrtha (sacred places)
• three worlds (trailokya)
• cow (go)
• cow’s horns (gośṛṅga)
• water (jala)
• head (mastaka)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that sincere, dharmic reverence—here expressed through a simple purificatory act involving the cow—can yield merit comparable to extensive pilgrimage bathing. It emphasizes accessibility of religious merit through humble, respectful practice.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Anuśāsana Parva, Bhīṣma instructs Yudhiṣṭhira on dharma and religious duties. Here he praises the sanctity associated with the cow, stating that sprinkling one’s head with water that has touched a cow’s horns grants the same merit as bathing in all renowned tīrthas across the three worlds.