Shloka 9

Hemakūṭa’s Marvels and Lomaśa’s Account of Ṛṣabha at Ṛṣabhakūṭa

Nandā–Kauśikī Tīrtha Passage

Devanagari script

समुद्धृतमहावर्ता मीनग्राहसमाकुला | तां दधार हरो राजन्‌ गड़ां गगनमेखलाम्‌

Transliteration

samuddhṛta-mahāvartā mīna-grāha-samākulā | tāṁ dadhāra haro rājan gaḍāṁ gagana-mekhalām ||

Translation

ข้าแต่พระราชา สายน้ำนั้นปั่นป่วนด้วยวังวนใหญ่ เต็มไปด้วยปลาและจระเข้ พระหระ (พระศิวะ) ทรงรองรับพระคงคานั้นไว้—ประหนึ่งมีท้องฟ้าเป็นเมขลา (สายรัดเอว)

Word by Word

समुद्धृतमहावर्ताhaving great whirlpools raised up

मीनग्राहसमाकुलाcrowded with fish and crocodiles

ताम्her/that (river)

दधारheld/bore

हरःHara (Śiva)

राजन्O king

गदाम्the mace

गगनमेखलाम्whose girdle is the sky / sky-girdled

Speaker

लोगश उवाच

Characters & Entities

Hara (Śiva)

the river (implied feminine referent)

fish (mīna)

crocodiles/aquatic predators (grāha)

mace (gaḍā)

sky (gagana)

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?

The verse uses a vivid metaphor to show that when the world becomes turbulent and dangerous, divine power can uphold and restrain chaos, preserving order and safeguarding beings—an ethical reminder that dharma is supported when disorder threatens.

What is happening in the narrative?

The river is described as violently swirling and full of aquatic dangers; Hara (Śiva) is said to bear it aloft, likened to a mace whose girdle is the sky—an image of extraordinary, protective divine action.