Anushasana Parva Adhyaya 171 Shloka 20 - Mahabharata | Thai | Vedapath

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Shloka 20

Devanagari script

गड्जा महानदी वेणा कावेरी नर्मदा तथा । कुलम्पुना विशल्या च करतोयाम्बुवाहिनी

Transliteration

gaḍjā mahānadī veṇā kāverī narmadā tathā | kulampunā viśalyā ca karatoyāmbuvāhinī ||

Translation

ภีษมะกล่าวว่า—“(ข้าขอเอ่ยนามต่อไป) คัชยา มหานที เวณา กาเวรี และนรมทา; อีกทั้งกุลัมปุนา วิศัลยา กรโตยา และอัมพุวาหินี”

Word by Word

गङ्गाthe river Ganga

महानदीthe river Mahanadi

वेणाthe river Vena

कावेरीthe river Kaveri

नर्मदाthe river Narmada

तथाand also/likewise

कुलम्पुनाthe river Kulampunā

विशल्याthe river Viśalyā

चand

करतोयाthe river Karatoyā

अम्बुवाहिनीthe river Ambuvāhinī (water-carrying)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

Gaḍjā (river)

Mahānadī (river)

Veṇā (river)

Kāverī (river)

Narmadā (river)

Kulampunā (river)

Viśalyā (river)

Karatoyā (river)

Ambuvāhinī (river)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Recollection and reverent naming of sacred rivers (and, by extension, divine powers) is presented as a dharmic act that purifies the mind and invites protection; it models reliance on sanctity, gratitude, and remembrance rather than aggression.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma continues a long protective enumeration (nāma-smaraṇa) by listing additional rivers. The verse is one segment of a broader litany in which holy beings and places are invoked to confer auspiciousness and safeguarding.